Metroid Dread
by Ultimate Ridley
Summary: After the events of Metroid Fusion, supposedly, the galaxy is at peace. However, with a hidden conspiracy being developed along with a master plan the Space Pirates will administer, it is not even close. T4V
1. Gruesome Hunt

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE (September 3rd, 2010): **__****__**With the release of Metroid: Other M, much of this fic has been rendered "off" in the sense that it no longer follows the canon of the Metroid series. I know this. Now, I want anyone who feels urged to inform me of this to stop RIGHT NOW before you complain about it in a review/comment. This fanfic was released in mid-September 2008, nearly two years ago. Months before Metroid: Other M was even announced, much less released. It should be noted, however, that this sort of thing has not happened, at least not yet-I am simply pointing this out before someone who does not pay attention to publication dates does so, because such a thing annoys the hell out of me.**_

_**Metroid Dread**_

By Ultimate Ridley

**Chapter One: Gruesome Hunt**

The X Parasite has been terminated. The Metroid population is supposedly zero. All Phazon has been drained from the universe. The Space Pirates are missing from the picture. The most dangerous hunter is under the captivity of the Galactic Federation. However, even after nearly everything has been taken care of, the Federation still had their angry eyes focused on one woman.

_Samus Aran._

Daiban's civilians never have heard a word of Samus since the BSL Station imploded a few days ago. The Federation never spoke of her, and as such, the civilians blamed the Space Pirates, typically. But as the people who lived on the bustling mechanical planet gathered around the podium with Chairman Vorgle at the stands, they did not know what he was going to announce. Perhaps that a new threat was discovered? Unlikely. The men and women in the city square were hoping for another golden age of prosperity, one that they had before the Space Pirates interrupted it.

Chairman Vorgle tapped at the microphone in front of him nervously, testing to see if it worked. Slowly, he spoke into it.

"Men and women of Daiban, I've gathered you here today to announce that we are about to be finished with all of the threats that infect our galaxy. A new golden age of prosperity is imminent. Be patient," he announced to the extremely large crowd of humans and alienoids that sat in front of him. This was how he would start his speech. And the speech wouldn't last very long.

Up in the mechanical buildings above, Galactic Federation elite troopers were standing on the balconies of buildings, patrolling the street for any brave alien or human with the guts to pop out and snipe the Chairman. They were as prepared as they were going to get. But even that wasn't enough to handle what was coming.

The biggest prison on Daiban coincidentally was in the same city as the speech was taking place. On the large television screen the police were watching, they saw Vorgle voice his speech about the future of their galaxy. In a nearby cell sat an old nemesis to the Galactic Federation. This creature was listening in on the speech. The prisoner heard words spoken, but in truth, all he heard was lies. The prisoner knew who destroyed the BSL Station, and he knew the Federation was in for it when they went to hunt Samus. Samus was strong, very strong. She could take down a gargantuan lizard for goodness sake, let alone a seventeen foot tall dragon with an army at hand. What made the Federation any stronger than those losers who have tried again and again, and never prevailed? They were weak. They had no power, they had no advantages. They had nothing without Samus. And if Samus is now their enemy, how do they expect to defeat her? The prisoner pondered this for a very long while, until he heard a few words that had angered him.

"_Every prisoner in the GFA prison will be executed, to help decrease the chances of another threat arising – from the dead, or from the dawn."_

This was unacceptable. And the prisoner would not take it well. The creature jumped up, and slammed the cell forcefield that separated isolation from freedom. He roared as he did so. The officers knew immediately that he was angry at what Chairman Vorgle had just voiced.

"Tch, calm it, Sylux," one officer said.

"I'm kind of glad Vorgle's doing this, just look at that savage!" another officer added sarcastically, and that remark made the other officers let out a chuckle. Sylux spat at them, and sat back down, pondering what he could do to escape. He hadn't been imprisoned for long – perhaps five weeks or so. He was caught raiding a lone energy plant on a barren moon, not too far from Daiban. He had since then thought of many ways he could possibly escape.

Then it came to him. The execution. He could bust out when they were whisking him away from his cell to electricute him. He stood back up, and called out to the officers.

"Why don't you just kill me now?" he said through the cell. The officers turned their head slowly towards Sylux's cell, with that look on their face that expressed 'do you think I'm stupid?'

"Can it," a cop told Sylux. "The Chairman is talking."

Sylux hissed at the officers, and punched the forcefield, this time more casually. The cops were mumbling to each other, possibly about Sylux. Sylux did not know how to escape. It would take a miracle.

As Chairman Vorgle made his speech, many people cheered out at the end of many sentences. He truly was a charismatic being. It was almost as if he were the president of Daiban.

And the figure waited on a rooftop, camouflaged. He held his weapon pointed directly at Vorgle's head, and concentrated. The figure waited for a cheer that was loud enough to drown out the noise of his weapon. His weapon would reveal himself, and he would have to run as soon as he shot. And so, he waited.

Congressman Keaton looked up in the rooftops as he listened to Vorgle's speech. The crowd was starting to cheer loudly. He jumped when he saw a peculiar change in coloring of the white sky of Daiban, a reddish color. When he saw the figure perform a movement only sentient life was known to do, he cried out.

"Get down!" he yelled, and pulled Vorgle down. Just then, a red stream of an unknown substance shot across the area, and the Federation elites turned their weapons to the supposed source. Standing on a rooftop was a Kriken soldier, with an Imperialist installed on its arm.

"Take him out!" the commander of the group yelled. They started shooting at the Kriken with their lasers. The Kriken jumped down onto the street, which was going insane with pandemonium. If the troops shot now, they'd be risking a civilian's life.

"Damn," the commander swore. He looked at his men. "If there is a Kriken here, that means there are more coming. Get ready."

The troops singly nodded, and started running down and out into the streets. They called out for the civilians to clear them a path. No response. The people of Daiban were too overwhelmed with fear. The Kriken stood behind a staircase, camouflaged.

"These people are pathetic," the Kriken whispered to himself. "I knew this would be an easy planet to invade."

Sylux heard the screaming of the people out on the streets through the television in the nearby lounge. The police jumped and ran out, with one left.

"We have to go," he said to the prisoners. "Don't try anything funny."

Sylux ignored the man, as he ran out the passage. He heard the man trip on a wire, and then heard him hurry out the door. The forcefield of Sylux's cell was disabled. Oddly enough, only his was. The man had tripped on the main wire to his cell.

The other cells weren't forcefields. They were bars made out of a tough metal that was virtually indestructible. As Sylux just about ran out the passage, he heard someone call out.

"Hey, you bastard, what about us?" a deep voice said. Sylux turned around.

"Yeah, why should we have to suffer execution when you get away?" a higher-pitched voice squealed. Sylux sighed, and ran back into the lounge. He shoved his arm into the television, causing it to short circuit. He then fired a stream of electricity that busted all of the cells' security systems, causing the bars to open. All the criminals ran out of their cells, cheering. Sylux shook his head, and walked slowly behind the mob.

Sylux walked out into the streets, until he bumped into something as he wasn't paying attention. In front of him, the Kriken took color and became visible. It turned around, and blankly stared at Sylux. Sylux didn't look very thrilled, either.

"Sylux?" the Kriken asked. Its eye was getting a darker red, signaling that the Kriken was getting angry.

"Good gracious, I thought you were dead, Trace," Sylux replied. He looked around at the screaming crowd of civilians. "Good work."

"No thanks to you," Trace retorted. "What are you doing here?"

Sylux fixed his gaze back at Trace, and simply said: "Hunting."

Samus sat in her ship, all alone. She sighed. Well, she couldn't stay the good guy for too long. She didn't mean to force the BSL Station to implode, she didn't mean to kill many GF troops in the process, and above all, she didn't mean to reintroduce the Metroids to the galaxy. That was the big secret the Galactic Federation was hiding from the public: the Metroids aren't gone. Where they are specifically isn't known, but hopefully far enough to where the Federation can claim that an age of prosperity is imminent. The Space Pirates went missing; Samus was quite relieved that Ridley was trapped in the BSL Station when it imploded, as he was a frozen subject in a cryogenic chamber on the said station.

_But that didn't stop him from coming back before, _Samus thought to herself, reminiscing on the multiple times she managed to put his life to an end, yet he kept coming back – supposedly. Maybe he has a little secret to how he comes back, Samus will never know. What she does know is that with Ridley supposedly dead, and the Space Pirates missing, she was numero uno on the GF's hitlist. She had to keep running, but for now, she would rest.

Trace blankly glared at Sylux with his seemingly emotionless eye, and Sylux glared back – with no eyes. They had been trying to fight for a long time now, but years of isolation have done the exact opposite.

"I'm sure you're as pissed as me at how the 'Ultimate Power' was just a cry for help," Sylux started. "But at least I didn't lose everything."

"You just walked out of a prison," Trace replied. "That says something."

"Better than being dishonored amongst your race, no?" Sylux said casually. Trace screeched, and swung his arm at Sylux. Sylux pushed the arm to the side with one of his own. "No need to be rude."

"There he is!" a voice from the crowd exclaimed. The two hunters turned their heads to look at the crowd, only to see an entire army og GF troops pointing weapons at them. Sylux quickly looked back at Trace.

"Look, if you want to get out of this pickle, I suggest we work this out. Then, we can fight later," Sylux suggested. Trace agreed, and they ran the opposite direction, with Trace leading. They would go to his ship. They ran through many alleys, with troops following them. Soon, Trace got to the outskirts of the city, with Sylux close behind. Trace opened the door to his rather small hunter ship, and Sylux came in with. As they were flying off, Sylux kept the door open to show his final gesture towards the Galactic Federation for now: shooting the bird. After he did so, he shut the door, and Trace's ship blasted out of the atmosphere. The troops sighed.

"I suppose we could just say they're dead now," the commander told his men. "After all, how much damage can two hunters cause?"

The question was stupid, as Samus was a hunter, and seemed to be capable of taking anything down. Though still…the conflict was not over between Trace and Sylux.

Sylux stroked the awkward controls of the ship gently. It was then that he grabbed a handlebar, and pushed the airlock button. The door at the back of the ship opened, and sucked Trace out. He swore at Sylux as he flew out of the ship. Sylux responded by waving goodbye tauntingly. Sylux shut the door, grabbed the controls of the ship, and flew off at a high speed. Trace held his breath – or however his race respires – and waited for a rescue. It was then that he was picked up by a Kriken flagship, just before he burst from the lack of an atmosphere. Krikens knew when he was in danger, for they were monitoring him. And if you think that the deed Sylux did was cruel, Trace was no different; he was going to forcibly tie Sylux up and feed him to the Krikis back on Trace's home planet, if Sylux didn't do what he did. Nonetheless, he was still alive. And that was all that mattered as for now.

It was dark in the slaughter room of the Mothership. Space Pirates who could not fulfill their duties correctly were sent there, and were restricted from all decomposers. They had waited. Ridley had waited.

Weavel walked into the dark room with other Pirates carrying the dead body of their leader, Ridley. Ridley's soul was still awake, but his body was dead; he could not move a muscle. Weavel made preparations for the revival ritual, where Ridley would be revived. Weavel threw the dead body into the slaughter room, and walked out of the room into another that had a window that allowed Weavel to see the ritual. Weavel lifted a microphone and spoke into it.

"You are here," he said. His voice echoed over the intercom in the slaughter room. "Now, you may feast."

The lights dimmed more in the room, and Ridley's dead body released an eerie light. The light formed the shape of an unknown creature, and had a mouth with sharp, jagged teeth. The ghost-like figure started to rip and tear at the flesh of the dead Space Pirate soldiers within the room. It stripped the bodies of flesh until there was nothing but bone. It ate about ten bodies, then finished off by eating its own dead body. It was then that the creature grew dark gray-ish black skin, and a new body. The body had been like Ridley's others; dark gray and black skin, large wings with orange and red lobes, red eyes, etc. Ridley had been reborn from the ashes. The Space Pirates behind the window clapped, and the lights in the slaughter room brightened. Ridley opened the door, and held his arms out. A few Space Pirates cleaned him and searched him for diseases. With none found, they proceeded into the room to remove the now-useless corpses and leaving behind the ones that still had uneaten flesh on them.

Ridley walked into the purple halls of the Space Pirate Mothership, and took his new body's first sigh. Weavel walked out into the hall as well.

"Good to have you back, sir," Weavel said.

"Simply smashing to be back, good man," Ridley replied. He felt good as new.

Ridley walked into the control deck of the Mothership as Weavel was telling him the things that had happened since his most recent death.

"Sylux escaped, sir," he finished. Ridley stared at Weavel, somewhat proudly.

"Excellent," he stated. "And his current status, if you may?"

"On Trace's hunter ship. He stole it, and is using it to continue his life of crime," Weavel replied.

"As expected," Ridley said. "I trust Samus is gone?"

Weavel frowned under his mask. Ridley could see it with his hyper-advanced eyes.

"Of course," Ridley said. "No matter. This time, she is not the worst that could happen."

"What's the plan, sir?" Weavel asked. Ridley chuckled.

"None, yet," he replied. Weavel looked confused. "On your way, Weavel."

"Y-yes sir," Weavel answered nervously. He walked out of the room, and Ridley sat in his seat. He sighed, then laughed. It was going to work this time – he was sure of it.


	2. Dead or Alive

**Chapter Two: Dead or Alive**

Sylux flew along the glittering constellations of the galaxy, heading for…somewhere. In truth, he had never planned to get this far. Three hours ago, he had done so much. He escaped the clutches of the Galactic Federation, met with Trace, escaped with Trace, and to top it all off, he threw Trace out of his own ship. Of all the cruel things Trace might have done had he not opened that airlock, very few if not none of them could have matched the cruelty of such an evil deed. Sylux sighed.

_Where to now?_ he wondered. He looked on the radar of Trace's ship, and checked for anything he could attack and steal from. He found nothing. He looked closer at the radar, and realized that it was not a radar, but a DNA analyzer. Sylux felt stupid. There was no radar on Trace's ship. How could he possibly find anything without one?

* * *

Samus was sleeping in the peaceful ship she owned, unaware of the nearby vessel. The stream on her radar zipped across an apparently unknown object, and the buzzing sound it made woke Samus. She quickly, yet clumbsily, pushed a button under her radar. A screen appeared, and it showed the unidentified vessel. She took a closer look, and saw it to be a Kriken hunter ship. It was simply drifting in space like her ship was. She commanded the ship to scan for any signs of life on the ship. The ship responded in a robotic and boring tone:

"_LIFE HAS BEEN DETECTED ON THE VESSEL. THE STATS ARE AS FOLLOWS:_

_CELLULAR STRUCTURE: SAPIEN. THIS CREATURE IS A BIPEDAL HUMANOID._

_CURRENT STATUS: SIMPLY RELAXING. POSSIBLY PONDERING SOMETHING._

_ORGANISM IDENTIFICATION: UNDEFINED._

_THREAT LEVEL: CRITICAL._

_SUGGESTED ACTION: ERADICATE THE VESSEL IMMEDIATELY. HAVE A NICE DAY."_

Samus quickly turned her ship to face the Kriken hunter ship, and readied her ship's missiles. Whatever this thing was, it was apparently deadly. Samus tried to remember if she had ever come into contact with any Krikens. She pondered the thought. She encountered a few rebellious Krikens when she was on a mission to hunt a typical galactic criminal. They were a very nice bunch, as they believed all of their race's beliefs were wrong. They even helped Samus.

She also remembered a few in a criminal meeting she ended up stopping. But how could she forget, the skilled sniper, Trace. The worst of all Krikens. Maybe Trace was in this ship, because he was a hunter. He was one of the six hunters that tried to get the Ultimate Power, which was a lie to get help. He wielded a deadly sniper called the Imperialist, and killed everything he landed a headshot on. She had first met him on Arcterra, when he was trying to snipe Noxus, the Vhozon.

Samus shot at the ship with her missiles. The homing weapons propelled theirself through the empty blankness that was outer space.

_I have you now, Kriken, _she thought.

* * *

Sylux took quick action. He saw the missiles coming straight at him almost immediately, and realized that he must have been tracked down by Trace and the other Krikens. He directed the ship to slide out of the way; however, even an action like this hadn't saved him. The missiles banged the red metal of the ship he was in with harsh force, causing Sylux to fall over, out of his seat. The ship started blaring sirens and flashing lights, indicating for him to evacuate the ship immediately. He couldn't. He wasn't in a planet's atmosphere. He would have to fight back.

Sylux quickly regained control of the ship, and pulled a lever. A red beam shot out and smacked the opposing ship with a direct hit. The opposing ship started to smoke. He took a close look at the enemy, and gathered that it was purple. He shot again, just clipping the ship this time. The sirens continuously blared, and eventually, the ship started talking a language he could not understand. Sylux powered his translator, and heard these words:

"_HULL INTEGRITY DAMAGE CRITICAL. SHIP CANNOT WITHSTAND THE INJURIES. EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY."_

He ignored the ship's demands, and continued to shoot at the bogey. He got hit again with missiles, and the ship exploded. With him in it. Sylux was hit hard with the undying flames of the exploded ship, destroyed by an enemy who was too strong for him. He closed his eyes, and waited to burst.

Sylux regained sight in a lit up room. He lifted his head up, and quickly scanned the area. There was a tinned window on a wall, and a door on the wall next to it. He was being watched. Sylux tried to get up, but was being held down by tough straps around his wrists and ankles. He was stuck. Breathing heavily, he heard a voice being spoken through an intercom.

"Calm down. You're safe now," the voice said. Sylux started to go insane with rage.

"Let go of me, you Galactic Bastards!" Sylux yelled. He started to try to get the straps off, until he heard a wire extend. He turned his head to try and see his back. He was connected to something. A super-computer? Sylux didn't know.

"You're connected to the main CPU. Data is being downloaded into your memory banks, including pictures of what happened," the voice spoke. Sylux stopped shaking.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" he called out. Suddenly, the door opened, and a large, almost black dragon walked in. He leaned over Sylux, and examined him. He then started to speak.

"We're doing you a favor," the creature said. Sylux waited for more. "You were shot down, by Samus. You encountered her on your stolen ship."

Sylux glared. "Samus did this?" he asked, looking at his armor. He had just realized that his armor was damaged heavily, leaving many open areas, sparking with electricity.

"It would appear so, would it not?" the creature replied. It examined Sylux further. "Oh, my. She did bash you up pretty badly, hm? Well, it's a good thing we're helping you, isn't it?"

"Who are you?" Sylux asked softly. The creature grabbed Sylux's hand and shook it.

"The name is Ridley," it said. Sylux shook off Ridley's claw and spat at him. Ridley frowned. "As mother always said, don't bite the hand that feeds you, because it will bite back."

Sylux glared at Ridley. "What am I doing here?" he asked, with a hint of anger. Ridley inhaled, and spoke.

"I want you to see someone you probably remember well," Ridley said to Sylux. He waved his hand, and Weavel walked into the doorway. "I'm sure you remember Weavel, don't you?"

"Oh, hell yes," Sylux said, getting angrier. "What a drag."

"Ahem," Weavel voiced. "I save your ass, and in return, you simply try to end my life. Hmph. You haven't changed one bit."

"No, I haven't, and I don't plan on it either," Sylux snarled.

"If you two can't get along, I will have to feed you both to Kraid," Ridley interrupted. Sylux gained a somewhat confused look.

"Kraid? Who is Kraid?"

"My pet," Ridley responded simply. There was a loud beeping noise, and Ridley slashed the straps off of Sylux. As expected, Sylux jumped and started to run out the door, up until Ridley gripped his neck. "What's the rush? Aren't you going to have dinner with us?" Ridley had a wicked smile on his face. Common sense showed he was being sarcastic. "I might just have to leash this one; he's a _savage_," Ridley added. Sylux struggled to break free of the tight grip that which he was being held. He tried to fire his Shock Coil, however, the weapon had seemingly been removed. He simply relaxed, and Ridley let go of him. "Now, behave."

The three of them walked down the halls of the Mothership, Ridley in the front, Weavel in the back, and Sylux in between the two. He was surrounded. His stare met with the eyes of many different Space Pirates, who glared at him.

"I thought your species was as gone as the Metroids," Sylux said to Ridley. Ridley snickered.

"If that's true, then we are still abundant," Ridley replied. Sylux looked confused. "What, did you not know that they are still alive?"

"No. I thought the last one was killed by Mother Brain on Zebes. It was big in the news a few years ago," Sylux said. Ridley snickered again.

"Common misconception," Ridley said simply. He looked behind himself while walking, and gathered that Weavel was also confused. "Weavel, tell me you remember Settlement Zero."

"No sir, Settlement Zero is just a myth, isn't it?" Weavel asked.

"Incorrect. Who told you such lies?"

"The entire Space Pirate Empire believe that," Weavel replied. "It was a rumor, but it soon became a myth."

"No, no, no. Good gracious, technology is deteriorating the use of oral communication between generations nowadays, is it not?" Ridley asked rhetorically. "Settlement Zero. The first Space Pirate settlement built outside of Zebes. It is located on the outer rim of the galaxy, on a freezing subzero planet. We built a base there so the Galactic Federation was restricted to reach us, for it was nearly outside the galaxy. We built labs, hm…not as advanced as we do to this day, but we used them to perform tests on the Metroids. It was also the first Metroid testing laboratory."

"You tested on Metroids? Are you mad? Did you not get injured?" Sylux asked.

"Well, of course we did. Why else would we abandon a still-good settlement?" Ridley replied. "They got out of hand. A few screw ups in the testing made some of them mature faster than normal, making Omega Metroids only two weeks after they were born from an egg. We could not handle the situation, so, we decided to risk getting arrested by the Federation and move in closer to the center of the galaxy. Not a smart move, considering I am the reason my enemy exists."

"What do you mean?" Sylux wondered.

"I'm why Samus is such an overpowered hunter. If I hadn't raided her planet, or killed her mother, she would only know me by the news. She wouldn't be raised by the Chozo, so she wouldn't be superhuman. Etcetera, etcetera…"

"Samus was raised by the Chozo?" Sylux wondered.

"Oh, yes. She has their blood."

"Aren't they dead?"

"Well, of course, thanks to me and a little traitor of theirs. The Zebesian Chozos anyway. The Tallonians and such left for other reasons," Ridley explained.

The trio walked into a room with pistons and other gears working. The Pirates were apparently doing a few mechanical tests.

"So, what do you want from me?" Sylux asked Ridley. Ridley stopped, and turned to Sylux.

"Your help," Ridley said.

"With what?" Sylux asked. Ridley poked a button on a nearby machine, and a hologram of the galaxy popped up. He poked a system on the hologram, and it showed Samus flying her ship.

"I need you to bring me her," Ridley said. Sylux grew angry.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because, if you want the Galactic Federation gone, you will listen to me," Ridley replied.

"Do you want her dead, or alive?" Sylux asked.

"She must be alive. Dead is not acceptable," Ridley replied. Sylux started to walk out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Weavel shouted.

"I won't do it," he said. "It's hard enough to bring her back dead, but this is too much."

Ridley flew around Sylux and landed in front of him with a loud thump. He grabbed Sylux by the neck, and pushed him against the wall.

"You listen to me," Ridley said, angered. "The Galactic Federation believes the galaxy is nearing another age of peace. This leaves them vulnerable to attack. We left their sight for a reason, and that was to make them believe they were safe. When they reach a state of comfort, they will forget all about us Space Pirates, and that will be our golden chance to attack. They won't be prepared for us. And I have a plan to stop them. And in order for that plan to work, I need you to get me Samus Aran. Do I make myself clear?"

Sylux growled. "Why can't you just do it yourself?" Ridley glared at Sylux, and threw him over. Sylux stared at the angered Ridley.

"Bring back Samus, and I won't kill you for what's left of you," he said, and stomped off. Weavel lent a hand to get Sylux up, and Sylux stood up.

"He can sometimes be like that," Weavel said. "But he isn't kidding."

"Better get me a ship," Sylux mumbled.

"Already done," Weavel said, and escorted him to the dock hangars.

* * *

Order had been returned to Daiban, but their guard was increased. Trace had really stirred up a riot. They had to be prepared for future attacks.

Keaton spoke into an intercom next to a door, and it replied: "Come in."

Keaton walked into the office in the building that stood tall over the capital of Daiban. At the desk was Chairman Vorgle.

"Telling the civilians that we killed the Kriken worked," Keaton said.

"Of course," Vorgle replied. "They'll believe anything these days."

"That they will," Keaton replied. Vorgle looked up at Keaton.

"Have a seat," he said. Keaton walked over to the desk and sat down.

"Samus was spotted again, just recently," the Chairman said. "She was found shooting down a Kriken vessel."

"Better a Kriken vessel than one of ours, eh?" Keaton responded. Vorgle stared at Keaton with a serious look.

"This is serious, congressman. We can't lie to our planet's people much longer. We can't handle everything at once, we—"

"We need Samus," Keaton said. Vorgle looked at Keaton with a hint of sorrow in his eyes.

"Yes, we do," he replied. "But how can we have Samus do anything else for us if she is the one we're hunting?"

"It's not only her," Keaton said. "The Krikens are out there, and Sylux escaped his cell. We could be looking at the successor to the Space Pirates here."

"_If_ the Space Pirates are actually gone," Vorgle added. "They might just be hiding, waiting to pounce."

"That's entirely possible as well," Keaton said. "What do you suppose we do?"

"We need to rid of Samus. If we do that, we will have the biggest threat out of the way," he replied. "Tell your men to search the galaxy for her. I want her dead. We may need her, but the fact that she betrayed us…considering her power, she needs to be rid of."

"Yes, sir," Keaton nodded in agreement. He stood up, saluted, and walked out the room. He signaled to a squadron of Federation troops to search for her and kill her. They boarded their ship, and took off.

* * *

Trace appeared before the Emporer Kriken. He fell on his knees as he was thrown.

"You failed again, Trace. That is the third time," the Emporer said. Trace bowed to the Emporer.

"I would have got him, had I not met Sylux," Trace defended.

"No excuses," the Emporer replied. "I ought to feed you to the Krikis. It has not had a nice feast in ages. I'm sure you would make a tasty meal."

Trace prayed the Emporer would add on.

"But…I won't. You have one more chance, understand? One more," the Emporer said. "Find our colony a nice planet for us to invade, and you will be spared."

"Yes, your highness," Trace replied, and walked out of the area.

"You'd better not screw up again," a Kriken guard told Trace. Trace flicked the guard off, and continued walking. The guard looked at the other guards. "What an asshole."

Trace walked into his new ship that had just been finished, and fired up the engine. He set a path, and took off. Only this time, he'd be following Sylux.


	3. Crash Landing

**Chapter Three: Crash Landing**

After knocking out the Kriken's ship, Samus took off in an entirely different direction. She didn't know where she would go, but she had to go somewhere. She could leave the galaxy. No, she couldn't do that. After all, she grew up in this galaxy, and then she'd leave the Space Pirates to swallow it whole—if they were still around, she thought. The Galactic Federation may be hunting her as an outlaw now, but she couldn't let them die a slow and painful death. But then she would just keep running. It was hard to decide. Maybe she could find some way to sort this whole misunderstanding out, but it would take tremendous effort. She waited for a chance. That's all she needed.

* * *

Ridley walked into the dark room, where very few lights were powered on. Many Space Pirates were culturing bacteria of all kinds, trying to create something. Inside this room was Weavel, who was carefully preparing a cure for Miteralis. Ridley stepped over to him.

"How is the cure coming along?" Ridley asked. Weavel looked back at Ridley, then went back to culturing.

"Not even close. More of our soldiers will die of Miteralis," Weavel replied, concentrating. "There just doesn't seem to be a way to establish a vaccine."

"We quarantine those affected, yet soldiers still catch it. Has anyone learned why?" Ridley asked.

"I'm not sure. You might have to consult Phantoon on the matter," Weavel replied.

"Alright. Carry on," Ridley said, and walked off. When he was walking down the hall, a screen followed him, and turned on. Ridley turned his head to see who it was. It was Sylux.

"Ridley, I hope you're not busy," Sylux said on the screen.

"Heavens no. I was just going to speak to Phantoon about Miteralis, but your mission is far more important in the current situation. So, tell me, how is finding Samus coming along?" Ridley asked.

"Perfect," Sylux said. "I'm following her now. One problem, though. She has friends."

"Friends?" Ridley looked confused, then realized Sylux meant the Galactic Federation had found her as well. "Ah."

"Yeah. It's just a little squadron, though. Samus could finish these guys off in a matter of thirty minutes," Sylux said.

"Excellent," Ridley replied. "Well, I wouldn't want to hinder you in your efforts. Carry on."

Sylux nodded, and the screen turned off. It retreated back into the ceiling. Ridley continued down the hall. He entered a large room, with nothing in it but two torches. Ridley clapped twice.

"Come on out," Ridley said. The bulbous, one-eyed creature appeared within the room.

"What?" Phantoon asked. He could be as rude as he wanted to Ridley, as he was a Space Pirate Hierarch.

"Weavel told me that you might know why Miteralis is spreading, even though we are putting all soldiers infected in quarantine," Ridley explained. Phantoon sighed, and rubbed his eye.

"Ugh..remind me to bash his skull in later," Phantoon said. Ridley nodded, though he knew Phantoon was being sarcastic. Phantoon went in the back of the room, and retrieved a dusty microchip. He blew the dust off, and put it in the super computer that sat on the wall.

"I know when you mean something else," Phantoon said, eyeing Ridley. Ridley smiled, looking at the super computer.

"Good. It means I have succeeded in my efforts to make you top rank material," Ridley replied.

The computer screen played a video of the Galactic Federation advertisement, the advertisement they had used on televisions universally before the Space Pirates formed and caused chaos. Ridley watched it closely. The trailer was very corny, and Ridley was relieved when it ended. After the advertisement, it showed an extra clip that was cut out of the commercial due to violence. The GF originally planned to incorporate it in a paid programming to give people an idea of their struggles, however, early on, it was considered too violent to be shown in the public. Phantoon managed to get his hands on one of them. Soon, a man started to speak on the screen. He was a general of the GF, probably deceased by now.

"Hello, and thank you for watching our video. I'm here to tell you about the Galactic Federation and their struggles these days. Nearly seven centuries ago, the humans had a problem with terrorism. But that wasn't their only threat around. Amongst the wars between their own race, they were subsequently attacked by an unknown alien race by the year 2027. The discovery led to a tremendous breakthrough for many scientists. They had discovered that there actually was life out there, and that was all they needed to create space ships capable of flying out of Earth's orbit. Over time, quite quickly at that, they had established many bases on other planets within their system. What had happened to the unknown race that attacked them remains undefined, but what we do know is that there might still be more. Soon, the humans met with other aliens, who happened to be at constant war as well. They joined forces, and called theirself the Federation Alliance. Over time, that name changed to Galactic Federation. The humans played a major role in the military forces of the Galactic Federation, and the aliens were mainly those in office, governing the Federation. For a time, this organization was unstoppable. They had a nice age of peace, and no crime tried to erupt from nowhere to try and stop it. We had no enemies for a long time, up until the Space Pirates rose. They took the Metroids from our grasp, and they are still amidst the space to this day. They have been establishing many bases across the galaxy, practically any planet. One mistake they made, however, was to create a settlement on Bilium. We had tried our hardest to stop them, and this was one of our first fights. On the planet, we saw that both of our races were being infected with an unknown disease, that made anything the carrier touch die. Eventually, the carrier would have internal bleeding, and overflow with blood. And the only way to cure it was to die. We put the infected in quarantine, and left the Space Pirates twitching on the planet. Whether they were done the same or not is unknown. We…"

Ridley stopped the video.

"Of course!" he shouted. Phantoon stared at him, as if he were crazy. "We left a few Pirates there!"

"So…you abandoned them?" Phantoon asked, confused.

"No, I couldn't risk it. A few soldiers must have contracted it and managed to get back here. Maybe we left ships as well…" Ridley replied.

"Then wouldn't the disease camp on the ships?" Phantoon suggested. Ridley stared at Phantoon wide-eyed.

"That's probably it," he said, and walked out.

"A little thank you would be nice!" Phantoon shouted. Ridley flicked Phantoon off as he left the room. "Oho, I see how it is!" Phantoon knew Ridley was joking.

* * *

Sylux had his ship's invisibility on. Samus could still track him down, but shooting him would be a pain. Sylux liked the Space Pirate hunter ship more than the Kriken one—this was more like a luxury. He couldn't wait much longer; the Galactic Federation wasn't too far behind. He fired the turbo of his ship, following Samus close behind. Sylux punched the connector button, and a metal pipe wide enough to send Sylux through safely extended from the bottom of his ship. It connected to Samus's ship, allowing him to enter.

* * *

Samus heard a crash on her ship, and checked the radar. She had just realized that it was buzzing. She looked up what the bogey was, and saw nothing. Suddenly, the door into her ship opened, and a figure popped through it. She turned around, and gasped.

"Not you," she said. Sylux surged electricity through his arm.

"Yes, me," he said calmly. "Come quietly, and you won't be hurt."

"Hell no," Samus replied. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"No," Sylux said. "But if you don't come, I'll have to call you stupid."

"Why?" Samus asked. Soon, an even louder crash sounded. Sirens started blaring in Samus's ship. "I'm hit!"

"Of course you are," Sylux shouted. "Because you didn't listen!"

Underneath her helmet, Samus glared at Sylux.

"This is some sort of trick, isn't it?" she asked. "I bet you were sent out to try and get me to come with you so I can fall into a trap. It won't work."

Sylux felt like he had been caught. Ridley never clarified what exactly he wanted to do with Samus, let alone why he didn't bother to do it himself. But he couldn't remain on this ship.

"Would you rather be shot down, or do you want to live?" Sylux asked. Samus shook her head no, and Sylux backed away. He escaped back into his ship, which remained undamaged because of the invisibility camouflage. The connector detached from the smoking ship, and Sylux watched as the Galactic Federation had, as expected, shot continuously at Samus. They caught her off guard. She couldn't last much longer. And on top of that, she didn't want to kill the Galactic Federation.

One final blow bashed into Samus's ship's engine, causing it to go out of whack. She soon found herself rocketing downward towards an unknown planet. She had entered its atmosphere. Sylux watched the ship go down, and subsequently followed it. The Galactic Federation followed, unaware of the invisible ship ahead.

* * *

Samus woke on the crashed ship. She had barely survived the impact. She got up, and bashed a window open. A frosty wind blew over her helmet, and ice crystals blocked her vision. She stepped out of her ship, and started walking. Soon, she slipped. She fell on her back, and struggled to stand back up. She cleared the crystals from her helmet, and scanned the area. She was in an icy pit, with a dead tree to the right, and a door on the other side. Looking above, she gathered that she was about twenty feet under the surface. Suddenly, she heard the whooshing sounds of ships zipping above her. She was lucky not to be found.

She entered the door, and scanned the passage that followed. It was highly mechanical. Rusted, but still functional. She walked down the mechanical path, and entered the next door. Within the next room was a large mechanical base that sat in a snowy valley.

_Phendrana Drifts? _she thought. Suddenly, she heard a voice shout "there she is!" and she saw an entire squadron of Federation troops dashing towards her. They started shooting at her, and she started shooting back. She soon noticed that her beams didn't work. Her missiles caused them to flinch, but nothing more. It was then that a large blue creature busted through a mechanical wall, screeched, and pounced on the far away troops. It started ripping and tearing at their flesh, and killed many of them. A few troops retreated, as Samus had, and the creature stomped off out of the valley.

_Metroids? Here? _Samus thought. She had just seen an Omega Metroid rip at a squadron of Federation troops. Behind the mechanical wall was a path of torn and shredded wires. Samus took a run for it, and the Federation troops only clipped her with laser shots if anything. She ran into the passage, and fell down a pit of torn technology. At the end was another hole. She entered, and saw a large hangar room that was entirely mechanical. It had a form of fungus and mold crawling along the walls, and eggs. Lots of eggs. Inside the eggs were little bulbous creatures with fangs. Samus soon knew that she was inside a Metroid's hive.

Samus examined the eggs closely with her Scan Visor, and could clearly tell that they were Metroids. But then, large Omega Metroids started to ram at her, smashing her against a wall. They had caught her off guard. She looked around, and saw a Metroid Queen walk slowly towards her. It had its drooling mouth slightly open, ready to feast. Samus eyed a nearby elevator, and took a run for it. She entered it, and was relieved that it still functioned properly. She went up the elevator, and heard a loud smash. An Omega Metroid had smashed the elevator, making it impossible to go down. That meant that she only had one way to go: wherever this elevator took her.

* * *

Sylux ran into the base, and clicked the communicator on. On the screen, Ridley appeared.

"Hm?" Ridley asked. Sylux backed the camera back, giving Ridley a view of where he was. When Ridley saw, he spat out the sip of a drink he was slurping down. He wiped his mouth, and gasped. "What are you doing at Settlement Zero?!"

Sylux simply answered: "Hunting."


	4. Settlement Zero

**Chapter Four: Settlement Zero**

Trace followed Sylux's ship to the icy planet. He landed right next to the big ship the Pirates assigned Sylux, and shot it with his ship's Imperialist. He then pressed land, and opened his ship. He set his foot on the icy cold surface of the unknown planet, and gained a feeling that which he knew this planet. Trace pondered which icy planets he has been to. Arcterra? No. Phendrana? Definitely not. Trace scanned the area with his infrared sight, and saw no signs of red, which meant no heat, which, of course, meant no life.

"I wonder why he came here," Trace whispered to himself. He jumped off a small cliff, and entered the nearest door. He was in the large valley with the busted hole. Trace opened his scanner, and sought heat signals. His scanner went insane with beeping. He commanded his scanner to identify the organisms, and how long ago they were here.

"_Organism A: Homo sapien_," the computer said. "_There were about thirty of them. Two hours ago. They were dressed in hyper-advanced suits. All wearing the same suit. Possible explanation: they are of an organization."_

Trace knew the description well. Those damned Galactic Federation came here as well, likely hunting Sylux. He proceeded the scanner.

"_Organism B: Mature life-draining reptilian insectoid_," the computer stated. "_Genus unknown. Male. Deceased as of half and hour ago. This creature supposedly belongs to a species once thought to be extinct as of six years ago. Possible explanation: Omega Metroid, killed by increased cold temperatures combined with a genetic mutation forcing the creature to age faster. The creature has eaten two of the homo sapiens mentioned._"

Trace sighed. So the Metroids aren't dead, after all. Perhaps. He just follows what the scanner says.

"_Organism C: Unknown. Resembles a homo sapien, but also carries the blood of avianis sapien_," the computer explained. "_The organism not only carries foreign blood, but is also equipped with a Chozo Varia Suit, or parts of one. It also has Metroid DNA incorporated into its own. Possible explanation: Samus Aran_."

Trace gasped. Samus Aran? That bitch bounty hunter who screwed his chances of obtaining the Ultimate Power? Perhaps the grudge was merely partial; after all, the Ultimate Power was simply a desperate cry for help. But the hatred Trace held towards Samus still stood sturdy.

_Wonderful_, Trace thought. _Now I can eradicate Sylux_ and _Samus from existence_.

--

Samus entered a large corridor with mechanical walls that were partially frozen. No machinery seemed to work within these walls, as most of it was frozen solid. It seemed, however, that a few doors would operate correctly, at the least. The corridor was large, and there was a big hole in the left wall. Icy winds gushed into the room at a constant rate. At least now Samus could understand why the place was frozen, but she couldn't help but wonder what could have popped the walls open. Couldn't have been Metroids, could it? After all, Metroids were weak to ice. Then again, Metroids were never known to be bright, either. Whatever caused the large holes, either got frozen solid, or is lurking in the labs now; the creature could have come from the outside. Samus jumped down into the lower floor of the corridor, and entered a door. Beyond the door was a large and long hallway that had some machinery working. There were also stasis tanks, containing dead Metroids, some of them shriveled up. Halfway down the hall, she saw two broken stasis tanks. For a second, Samus panicked, but then remembered that her suit should protect her against Metroid attacks. But that didn't stop the Omega Metroids and their queen from trying to swallow her. Either way, she had to be careful. She entered another door, and heard voices from above in the next room. She looked up, and saw through a metal grate four Galactic Federation troops hanging around. One of them was communicating with their squadron. Samus soon gained the impression that the Federation scattered their troops around the base. She sneaked below the troops, trying her best not to create noise. Soon, she heard a loud crash in the room. The Federation troops started to shout, and then gunshots were heard. Samus watched the fight from below. She tried to make out what attacked them, and soon saw it to be an Alpha Metroid. Soon, the gunshots and shouting stopped. She broke the grate at the far end of the room, and climbed up. Out of surprise, the Alpha Metroid was dead on the ground. No wounds. Just dead. Samus panicked. The Federation troops won the fight. Now they were going to attack her, since she made a sound. The troops turned around.

"Take her out!" one troop shouted, and they started to fire at Samus. Samus side-rolled out of the way, and started to run to the nearest door. She opened it, and ran down another mechanical hall, this one with no signs of being frozen. She stopped to take a breather. The troops opened the door, and started to run down the hall. Samus, worried, rolled into Morph Ball and entered a nearby hole that was torn from something as well. The Fed troops passed her without noticing her, and kept running. Samus decided not to follow them, and rather follow this small hole. She rolled down the hole into a large network of operational pistons and saws. She exited Morph Ball and carefully weaved her way around the obstacles, soon to reach another small hole. She entered it, and fell out onto a mechanical floor. She exited Morph Ball again, and saw a large support beam in the middle of the room. The support beam had fluids and other materials flowing through it. Was this, perhaps, the central dynamo? She soon took note that there were eight Fed troops in the room, starting to shoot at her. Samus entered Morph Ball and hid behind a crate. The Feds started searching the room for her. She left Morph Ball and stayed in a crouched position. Then, she heard another large crash, and heard more gunshots and shouting. She stood up, and saw another Omega Metroid attacking the troops after busting another hole through the wall. The troops shot at the Omega Metroid, and all shots did not do any visible damage. The Omega Metroid spat on the troops, causing them to disintegrate. Soon, all troops but one were gone, and the Omega Metroid ended up stepping on it. Samus emerged from behind the crate, and approached it. Oddly enough, the Omega Metroid readied to spit at Samus. Samus quickly rolled to the side to avoid the attack. The large Metroid soon started to walk towards Samus, about looking hungry for more. She started questioning why it would do this to her. Why was any Metroid this aggressive towards her when she was infused with a Metroid's DNA? Samus decided now was not the time for questions, and started to hit the Metroid with Missiles in the stomach. The Metroid simply pushed the explosives to the side before it impacted. Soon, another Omega Metroid busted a locked door open, leaving another gaping hole in the wall. It started to lunge at the other Metroid. Now Samus was really confused. Why were they fighting? To compete over food? That would be most logical, but it was not the answer. The Omega Metroid that had just busted through the wall avoided a claw swipe from the other, and pushed the other Metroid into the support beam. The corridor shook a little, but the beam held. The Omega Metroid then went in and bit the stunned Metroid on the neck, and started to swallow its energy. The stunned Metroid soon just lay there, with bite marks on its throat. Now Samus had a logical explanation for why the Metroids were attacking her. It wasn't competition, it wasn't territory, but rather the Metroids are _cannibals_.

She wasn't done here. The second Omega Metroid sniffed the area, and smelled Samus's presence. It started to search the room for her, in which caused Samus to dash towards the door without a second thought. Just as she caught onto Speed Booster, the Omega Metroid jumped right in front of her, and roared. Samus took a small jump, and then flew forward with her shoulder pointing out. In shinespark, she caught the Metroid on its belly, and as such, used it to bust the door down. Samus continued to shinespark forward, pushing the now slightly helpless Omega Metroid ahead of her, as if it were a shield. Soon enough, they flew out a wall, bashing into a thick glacier. The glacier cracked. The Metroid fell to the icy ground, with Samus following it. Samus hit the ground with a hearty _thud! _and struggled to get herself back up. She felt cold, all of a sudden. It was odd. She had the Varia Suit, so she should be protected. But even so, she felt her energy drain. With a sudden jump, she looked around to see if that feeling was being caused by the Omega Metroid that came with her. She stood up completely, and saw the Omega Metroid struggling as well. But after a few seconds, the large Metroid froze right before Samus's eyes. The cold was too much for it. Samus sighed in relief, until the cold feeling grew stronger. Samus started to shiver, even. Sure, around her, there was a blizzard, but she should be fine. Yet, she wasn't. She slowly crouched to try and get warmth, until a large reptilian creature stomped past her, and picked the frozen Omega Metroid off the ground. Samus took out her Scan Visor to see what it could be, but her suit's functions started to freeze. She looked up herself. Samus was astonished. She could have sworn what had picked up the Omega Metroid was another Metroid, only different. Then again, she could be wrong. A large herd of the mysterious reptilians started stampeding through the valley Samus found herself in. Startled, Samus started to run back towards the large mechanical compound she was in previously. Quickly, she shinesparked upward, bashing her skull on a metallic structure. Samus fell, and quickly grabbed a ledge. She lifted herself up, and entered the nearest door. Shortly after, she heard her suit malfunction. The words appeared on her visor.

_"SCREW ATTACK MALFUNCTION. ICE MISSILE MALFUNCTION. SEVERE BEAM MALFUNCTION. SPACE JUMP MALFUNCTION. SUPER MISSILE MALFUNCTION. POWER BOMB MALFUNCTION. THE POWER-UPS LISTED HAVE BEEN FROZEN SEVERELY. THEY CANNOT BE USED UNTIL SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES ARE MET. THE FOLLOWING ITEMS REMAIN INTACT AND UNFROZEN: SPEED BOOSTER, MORPH BALL, VARIA SUIT, GRAVITY SUIT, ICE BEAM, SCAN VISOR, MISSILES, DIFFUSION MISSILES, MORPH BALL BOMBS, X-FUSION SUIT, HI-JUMP BOOTS, AND JUMPBALL. EXTRA ENERGY TANKS HAVE ALSO BEEN FROZEN AND ARE NOW OBSOLETE. MOST MISSILES HAVE ALSO BEEN FROZEN, EXCEPT FOR A FEW. SINCE THESE ITEMS ARE NOW OBSOLETE, IT IS ADVISED THAT YOU REMOVE THEM FROM YOUR PERSON."_

Samus did as the computer said. She removed all frozen items as well as Energy Tanks and excessive Missile Expansions. And once again, Samus found herself with only a few items left over. At least it wasn't as bad as it was before; when the Galactic Federation surgically removed Samus's Chozo Varia Suit, she had literally lost everything except for her beam. But this was still pretty serious.

The room she had entered was, as expected, icy. Not as cold as outside, because the Varia Suit could handle this temperature. It was about as large as the first corridor she had went through in this place, only it lacked a hole, and everything was literally frozen solid, no exceptions. Samus examined the area, and saw mechanoids. They were all frozen in their place. Samus scanned them, and gathered that they were worker robots, who unless their creators were frozen here as well, were obviously abandoned. She stepped past them into the next room, which was a very high and wide hall that had busted glass on the dome ceiling. She checked her map, and learned the name of this hall: Combat Drone Hangar. So, it wasn't a hall. On the side, she saw three frozen mechanoids sitting in a curve in the wall, seemingly dedicated to them. Must have been the hangars. She scanned the first one.

_"SP-M #0-70, a.k.a. 'Protos'. Protos was the first drone built in Project 7, a program only administered within this facility. When the Space Pirates designed it and it turned out successful, they held parties and celebrations, as it was a very useful piece of work. It was built primarily for defense, however it does have an offensive instrument built into its cranial area. The Pirates seemed to have planned to create more of this model, however, they stopped trying when they realized it was useless against cold temperatures. It had frozen within two weeks after completion, and became obsolete. Project 7 was suspended due to the failure of this drone."_

Samus stared at the box-shaped drone, that which had its arms retracted, and powered off. Icicles hung from its body in all sorts of places. And overall, it was tiny. Samus pondered how the Space Pirates could even think this robot would have been useful in the first place. She even wondered: was she in an old Space Pirate facility? Samus tried not to worry, and reverted her attention to the second drone. She scanned it.

_"SP-M #0-71, a.k.a. 'Pinaclus'. Pinaclus was the second drone built under Project 7, and took years to finalize, as the Pirates tested it privately in every way possible until they were sure it would work. And just like Protos, it did, at first. The drone was originally made for combat, and held AI that commanded it to behave precisely like a Space Pirate. The Pirates developed a wire extension device, which they had installed into the neck of the drone. This extension device revolutionized Space Pirate technology, and enabled larger and more capable drones. In Pinaclus's case, this device enabled it to be larger than Protos, and even allowed an artificial Space Pirate claw to be installed. The device also regulated heat throughout the drone, making it less susceptible to the freezing temperatures that surrounded Settlement Zero. However, even with this, the drone froze within six months after completion, and, just as Protos, became obsolete. Project 7 was suspended yet again, this time even longer."_

Samus looked at the drone. It did resemble a Space Pirate, somewhat. Though it seemed that its right claw was improvised heavily, whereas its left was the same old lobster claw Space Pirates had. She continued walking, and scanned the third drone.

_"SP-M #0-72, a.k.a. 'Novap'. Novap was the third drone built under Project 7 after its long time of being suspended. Novap's name derives from nova, however the 'p' at the end of it is an abbreviation of the word 'pirate', or, more specifically, Space Pirates. The large drone has two wire extension devices installed into its neck, enabling an even more massive body structure and two hyper-advanced Pirate claws to be installed. The drone has also come with a laser that causes concussive impacts installed into its back. With a final cheer, the Pirates were satisfied that the drone was lasting. A second Novap was in the making, when this one became frozen and obsolete within two years after completion. The Pirates, infuriated, destroyed the Novap in the making, and cancelled Project 7 altogether. Since then, even mentioning the failed Project 7 among the Space Pirates could cost you your life."_

Samus saw the large drone. It resembled an elite Space Pirate, or something of that sort. She ignored what was no more, and walked on. However, as she passed Novap, she heard a buzz. She looked at Novap, and saw that its eyes were glowing. Suddenly, the robot stood up tall, and the icicles on its body melted off. Novap roared at Samus and started shooting at her. Samus quickly side-stepped out of the way.

"THREAT DETECTED," Novap spat. "BACKUP SYSTEMS ONLINE."

Samus freaked. The thing had a backup system? What next? She scanned it quickly for thermal status.

"_Thermal Status: Operational. Temperature: 51 degrees Fahrenheit. The wire extension devices are heating Novap enough to last it for a short while._"

"Damn," Samus swore. Novap opened its claws, and shot a heated plasma shot the Pirates commonly used. Samus quickly sidestepped, and shot at Novap with a missile. She started to charge a missile, readying the diffusion effect. Novap attempted to stop her by opening the secondary laser that the scanner mentioned. Samus was ready to dodge, however, the laser zipped through the air at a ridiculous rate, and slammed her directly in the stomach. Samus flew back and hit the wall, hoping another Omega Metroid would save her one last time. Novap continued to step closer to Samus, and it readied its concussive laser once more. Just then, a loud crash surged through the room, and Samus was relieved. Yet another Omega Metroid. Only, Samus was wrong. This time, there was the static sound of electricity latching onto Novap. It started to moan mechanically, and fell over. Ahead of the machine, Samus saw her savior. Sylux said nothing, and ran through the other door. Samus stood up.

"_Bzzt! Sa..I..you..nee..to..pa..rob..Bzt!_" a random transmission occurred. Samus tried to clear out the signal.

"Grah! Samus! You must act quickly! They are approaching!" the computer continued. "Hurry! Step over Novap and obtain an item crucial to your survival!"

Samus recognized the voice from anywhere. She was a bit surprised as well.

"Adam?! Are you okay? I thought you were gone when my ship crash landed!" she said.

"Negative. While that may be true, remember that my mind continued to exist in the Galactic Federation database. They kept a backup disk for if something happened," Adam explained.

"Well, how are you managing to speak to me from here?" Samus asked.

"Barely. The area you're in blocks much signal. But otherwise, I came through your Scan Visor, when you were scanning Novap. I did so by hacking into the data files of the database and found you scanning. When you scan something, not only does it come from Chozo intelligence, but some also comes from the Galactic Federation database, respectively. When you scan something, the Galactic Federation can pinpoint your location and track you down, which is why I want you to hurry. They are tracking you as we speak. However, when I found data being extracted, I quickly implanted myself into the transfer and came with Novap's data. To be accurate, I am now a logbook entry in your suit. And as such, you can now speak to me anytime, even where there is no signal. I was going to inform the Galactic Federation about the SA-X's deeds and why you stopped their plans of attempting to harness the X for the good of society. But the Federation is a hard bunch to please. I decided I'd rather be here, so I could watch you," Adam explained. "From my knowledge of how fast the Federation works, I would suggest immediate evacuation of this planet."

"But I can't, Adam," Samus said. "My ship crash landed, remember? I have no method of transportation!"

"Hm. I do see. Most unfortunate. All I have to say about this is find civilization as quickly as possible, and see if they can supply you with a ship," Adam said.

"I would if I could," Samus replied. "But the only way to anything outside from here is too cold. Not even my Varia Suit can withstand it!"

"What? That doesn't make any sense. Your Varia Suit upgrade was meant entirely to protect you from extreme temperatures," Adam said. "And last time I reviewed on it, it was made for any temperature."

"Which did you look at? The Chozo Varia Suit, or the Federation's model?" Samus asked.

"Ah. I see where you are coming from. I'm guessing the Chozo Varia Suit was capable of such, but as expected, the Federation could not mimic the Chozo intelligence," Adam explained. "The Varia Suit you are equipped with now, apparently, cannot withstand temperatures beyond too extreme."

"So what do you suppose I do?" Samus asked, stressed.

"Simple. Stay around wherever you are, and try to find something that will protect you. That's all I can say on the matter, unfortunately…" Adam said. "In the meantime, Novap has left something that will help you with ice that obstructs your path. I suggest that you grab it."

Samus nodded. This was starting to get a little confusing. But she tried to isolate that thought, and stepped onto Novap's now-useless structure. Suddenly, she felt her gun upgrade. Her arm felt slightly heated, and she shot it to test. A large stream of plasma shot from her Arm Cannon, and shortly after, her suit notified her.

--_Plasma Beam upgrade acquired. Melt ice and other weak obstructions_.--

So Samus got the Plasma Beam back, very soon. Only it wasn't the one she was used to. She was used to a powerful beam that could pierce enemies, and when put together with the Wave Beam, made it a deadly equation. The one she had just obtained was the same as the beam she had gotten way back when she visited Tallon IV, and she also obtained it from the robotic bounty hunter Ghor on Elysia. Nevertheless, she felt warmer. At least it was a start. Suddenly, Adam popped up on her visor.

"Samus, the Federation is starting to infiltrate this section of the settlement. Start running. Now," Adam said. Samus nodded, and quickly ran through the same door Sylux left through.

-

Ridley sat in his large chair, with the usual screens in front of him. He used one to monitor Sylux. But recently, the signal was static-y. When the signal came back online, Ridley pulled open the communicator.

"Everything fine? The signal blacked out for a while," Ridley said.

"Yes, it's all good. I killed Novap so Samus could get the Plasma Beam," Sylux replied. "I didn't say a word, as instructed. Just left. Now, mind me asking the cause of the sudden change in plans?"

"You aren't required to understand that aspect at the moment. Be patient," Ridley responded.

Sylux nodded, and closed the communicator. He continued to walk through Settlement Zero.

"He doesn't know what's coming," Weavel said, behind Ridley. "He's in for a rude awakening."

"Correct, Weavel," Ridley replied to the comment. "Now, prepare for landing. We are approaching the planet as we speak."

"Yes sir," Weavel responded, and left the room silently. Ridley laid back in his chair.

"Oh, this is working perfectly," he said to himself. "I doubt even Samus will stand in the way this time around."


	5. Cure for the Cold

**Chapter Five: Cure for the Cold**

"Metroid squadron, move out," Ridley told the Space Pirates as the mothership landed. "And as for the rest of you, stay. We need guards, especially if Samus is here."

The other Pirates nodded, and retreated back into the ship. A bunch of sick-looking, greenish Space Pirates trudged out, moaning. They had been infected with a Metroid's DNA, only difference is that they were infected from the beginning. They have been to Settlement Zero before. But this time, they were actually on duty.

Weavel walked up to Ridley.

"Sir, I have news on the 'once mythological' Project 7," he said. Ridley paused, and looked at Weavel.

"Well then. What is it?" he asked.

"Protos is frozen solid, and so is Pinaclus…"

"I know. And Novap was killed by Sylux to help Samus progress. What about the last one?"

"…Last one, sir?" Weavel replied. Ridley's heartbeat rose a bit.

"Er…no. Silly me, eheheh," Ridley said. "Novap was clearly the last of them. I must have drunk too much…"

Weavel rolled his eyes.

"Okay…then how about telling me and everyone else exactly why you let Samus progress?"

"Not a chance in hell. Just follow your orders," Ridley barked.

"Yes, sir…" Weavel mumbled.

--

"Samus, you remember me informing you that you must avoid scanning to protect yourself from the Federation?" Adam asked. Samus sighed.

"Yes…but then how can I understand anything? I have to scan in order to learn what I'm up against," Samus replied.

"So true…which is precisely why I have created the Safe Scan program. It will protect you from the Federation. Thus, however, it would also cut off some information entering your logbook…so I have uplinked it to the Pirate's database. The Space Pirates have plentiful information you may find useful," Adam said. Samus frowned from within her helmet.

"So you linked it to the enemy's database? Smooth, Adam," she replied.

"Correct. But if the Pirates track you, would you care? You would kill them anyway, yet you would refrain from hurting a Federation soldier," Adam responded.

"Good point," Samus said. Ahead of her was a door, blocked by crystals. Samus attempted to melt the crystals with the Plasma Beam, but in turn, nothing happened. Confused, Samus scanned the crystals.

"_Scans indicate the presence of __**Vhozon Crystals**__. None of your weapons will have any effect_," the scanner said. Samus's eyes widened.

_Vhozon…Crystals?_ she thought. As soon as she heard the word 'Vhozon' she thought of a hunter she first met on planet Arcterra. The hunter went by the name of Noxus. He was found fighting the Kriken hunter, Trace. Noxus utilized a weapon called the Judicator, which was a beam composed of ice and bounced off walls. Samus then realized what planet she must have been on: Vho. Settlement Zero was on Vho, ironically at the outer rim of the galaxy. The Space Pirates must have used this to their advantage to keep the Federation unaware of their plans.

After she thought for a moment, she turned and entered an alternate door.

"So where would I download this 'Safe Scan' program?" Samus asked Adam.

"Simple. Locate and find a downloading station, and then look me up in the logbook so I can upload the program from your Scan Visor," Adam replied. "Until then, try to refrain from scanning."

Samus nodded. She would be able to gather data safely this way. Now, where to find a downloading room? Samus then had an idea.

"Adam, might you possess the skill to hack a map room data file and upload the program then? I'd imagine doing so would allow me to obtain this program instead of getting map data," Samus asked.

"I'm sure it could work, but a map could be a big help to you. Map rooms can only be used once. If you recall on your other missions, once you download a map you cannot access the map file a second time. Thus, you could only get one or the other. Perhaps, a missile recharge station?" Adam responded. Samus agreed.

She walked out into a cavern-like environment that was still connected to the machinery of Settlement Zero, however the walls were lined with Vhozon Crystals, and below was a pit to depths unknown.

_Perhaps I should return when I get a proper item…? _she thought to herself. She turned back, only to be welcomed by Galactic Federation soldiers.

"Samus Aran! We have you surrounded! Surrender or we will arrest you by force!" a Federation marine said. Panicked, Samus quickly charged her missile launcher and blasted the ground. It was her first instinct. There were so many of them, she assumed the diffusion effect of the missile would freeze them so she could escape. But, then she remembered: no Ice Missile upgrade. But the diffusion effect was still intact. When the missile impacted on the rusted metal beneath her, the explosion spread across the room and flew threw the marines. Most fell over dead, while others crouched and started to whimper in pain. As for Samus, the rusted floor beneath her broke open, and she fell through a hole. Little did she know, this hole would lead her somewhere.

Samus landed on a platform below. She was now in a tall cylinder-shaped corridor, with Vhozon Crystals left and right. The room was a bright purplish blue. At the base was a large frozen pond. With Vhozon Crystals blocking the nearest door, Samus melted the ice at the base, and fell into the water. With Gravity Suit still intact, she didn't have any problems moving freely in the water. A small path led her to a door, which she entered through. She was now in a corridor larger than any she's seen on this planet so far. The water didn't submerge the entire room, but most of it. Samus spotted three odd creatures in the water, so she scanned them, despite that she would be tracked even further.

"_A new __**[Creatures]**__ entry has been entered into your logbook. Morphology: __**Oculbyss. **__A one-eyed species that belongs to the Oculus family. These creatures have a long, serpentine tail extending behind them, and two fins that can act as claws. The creature's mouth is found on its stomach. The Oculbyss is the aquatic derivative of the Oculus. It has adapted to the environment, making it invulnerable to cold. It is much larger than an Oculus, and is confirmed to be carnivorous. As expected, the Oculbyss has one weak point, and that is its eye when it is open._"

Samus jumped down and shot an uncharged missile into one of the Oculbyss' eye. The eye exploded, and the Oculbyss went crazy as blood slowly oozed out the wound. Soon, the creature halted, and floated to the top of the water. Samus did the same to the other two Oculbyss. After all of them were killed, an alarm went off.

"WARNING. METROID EXPERIMENTATION TEST SUBJECTS HAVE BEEN TERMINATED. INITIATE LOCK-DOWN. ERADICATE THE THREAT."

Turrets dropped down from the ceiling and started to shoot at Samus. They were turrets, but they weren't ordinary turrets. They were HUGE compared to the ones Samus fought in Space Pirate establishments in the past. As the shots hit Samus, her energy was depleting dramatically. Without scanning, Samus quickly used a diffusion missile. The machines showed signs of taking damage, but were not completely destroyed by the widespread explosion that followed the missile's impact. Since Samus was low on missiles now, she charged and fired a Plasma Beam shot at each of the turrets. The turrets exploded, and the metal debris hit the ground. The doors in the room seemed to start working. Samus quickly entered one, and found herself in a water-submerged hall. She moved to the other side, and quickly entered the door. Now, she was in a Recharge Room. With a sigh of relief, she restored her energy and missiles, and then pulled Adam's file up.

"Samus, what were you thinking? Yet again, you scanned a creature," Adam said.

"Whatever. Look, I'm in a Recharge Room. Now do your magic," she replied.

"Fine, fine…" Adam said. Samus opened Scan Visor and locked onto the recharge station. With a quick short circuit, Samus's Scan Visor cancelled.

-------------------SAFE SCAN PROGRAM ACQUIRED. SCAN WITHOUT FEDERATION TRACKING. -------------------

Samus sighed. Now, she could scan safely without being tracked by the Feds. Rather, the Space Pirates would find her instead, but she could care less about them. After a short pause, she turned around and left the room.

In the hall she was in previously, Samus heard a crash from above. On the other side of the hall, a large chunk of metal blocked the door way. This left an opening in the ceiling. Samus climbed up the debris into a small spherical corridor. On the ground, Samus saw Federation troopers eaten away at by acid, something that must have been done by Metroids. Ironically, two Zeta Metroids were chowing down at the carcass of Federation troops. They saw Samus, but ignored her, as they were busy eating. Samus sneaked past the Zeta Metroids and entered a door on the other side of the room.

Past this door was a large room the size of a space ship hangar. Samus saw the hangar doors, frozen shut by more Vhozon Crystals. She jumped off a ledge onto the floor below, and started to hear gunshots. More Federation troopers. Samus quickly ran and hid behind some crates, which was useless considering the Feds were watching her as they were shooting. She rolled into a ball. Suddenly, the crates exploded, and a crab-like claw picked Samus up while in Morph Ball form. She then noticed herself being thrown, and then hit something. Samus unmorphed in order to see what she hit. As it turns out, she was thrown and hit a Federation marine in the helmet. Now, the marine was on the ground, likely unconscious. She turned around, and saw a group of Space Pirates roaring. She pointed her weapon at the creatures, but felt herself get shot by a Federation marine.

"I have you now," the marine said. "Don't move."

Samus fell onto her knees and felt the marine hold her down and pointing a gun to her head. He signaled for other troops to come and take her away. However, Samus saw the Space Pirates open their claws. Streams of wavy green energy left the claws and hit the Fed trooper holding Samus down in the head. The troop fell over. Samus stood up and started to shoot at the Pirates, however the Pirates dodged and did not shoot back. They shot the other marines.

"Stay still, you vile monsters!" Samus cried. "I am going to end your plans again, as I always do!"

When all the Fed marines were dead, the Pirates stopped shooting, and held a claw up to Samus.

"Understand our role in this plan that which you speak of," one of the Pirates stated. "We are merely escorts. Come."

"Nice try, but I won't fall for it. I'm not that stupid," Samus responded. She held her gun up and readied a diffusion missile.

"Ah. We can easily tell you are not bluffing, however you must understand that we are not here to harm you, but rather to help you. If you accept our help, you will have allies on your side as you fight those who try to kill you. Wouldn't you rather that than being caught in between us and the Feds, with no safety assured?" the Pirate said back.

"Samus, don't do it. You know better," Adam said.

"I know, Adam," she replied. She looked back at the Space Pirates and said acidly: "I don't need anyone's help."

"Suit yourself," the Pirate said, with a brief shrug. With a quick signal, the Pirates started shooting at Samus. Samus let her diffusion missile go. As it hit a Pirate, the Pirate whom received the missile went flying, and bashed its head on a hard rail. The others were affected by the shockwave that followed. Some were launched off the surface as well, and others took the hit and continued combat. Samus fired a charged Plasma Beam shot and melted a few of the surviving Pirates. She then started to run. She bashed into the remaining Space Pirate with Speed Booster. However, before Samus stopped, she quickly crouched, and shinesparked upward. She hit the ceiling hard, and then fell onto a metal ledge. She entered the nearest door, and was welcomed warmly by more Federation troopers.

_Don't they ever give up?_ Samus thought to herself. She speed boosted past them, as there was a catwalk to start the room off, and crashed through some damaged metal. She continued to run, and the Federation followed as fast as they could. Samus then hit a door, thus halting Speed Booster. She entered the door, and ran down another hall. She entered the door at this hall, and stopped in a dark room with very dim lights blinking on the wall and across wires that covered the ground like kudzu. She took a breather, as it would take the Feds minutes to finally catch up. She then went to the other side of the room, and noticed the door was locked. She turned back and walked forward, only to bump into an unknown object. She assumed it was a pillar, considering how large it was. She then heard thumping nearby at the wall, and a one-eyed creature busted a hole and jumped through. Just then, the blizzard outside started to gush into the area. The Feds came in and started shooting at Samus. She ignored them, and scanned the creature. It was called an Oculand, which was the land-walking derivative of the Oculus. It had two large legs that made it resemble a Sidehopper from Zebes. She quickly shot a diffusion missile into the beast's eye, causing it to go on a rampage. The Fed troopers started to shoot at the Oculand. The creature busted a power node, and suddenly, the wires that covered the floor started up. They offered power to the room, and the lights turned on. Samus looked at what she thought was a pillar, and pointed a gun at it. It was a tall robot with many mechanical parts attached to the main body. Wires connected to this robot, and soon, its eyes turned yellow, and some organic matter in the right leg and left arm started pulsing. The robot detached the wires from its leg.

"MULTIPLE THREATS DETECTED. ERADICATE ALL THREATS IMMEDIATELY," the robot spoke. Suddenly, a large missile launcher emerged from the creature's back, and then extended outward. Missiles fired out of the launcher and each homed in on a target. The Federation marines got shot, and so did the Oculand. Samus, however, did a sideways flip to dodge, then threw a heated missile. The homing missile followed it and shot it instead. "One threat remaining. Samus Aran, prepare for elimination. You will enjoy it."

Samus scanned the robot as quick as she could.

"_A new __**[Creatures]**__ entry has been added to your logbook. Mechanism: __**SP-M #0-73, a.k.a. 'Dynamus'**__. Dynamus is the latest model of Project 7. After Novap's failure, the Space Pirates went ahead and told the public that Project 7 has been cancelled due to constant failure. What the public did not realize was that __**Ridley **__and his top scientists and engineers were privately working on the ultimate machine even after they claimed Project 7 was cancelled. Dynamus was only half-way complete physically when Settlement Zero was abandoned after __**Project Dread**__ went out of control. However, Dynamus remains better than all three of its predecessors combined. It is armed with a blade that is powered with pure energy; this blade soon became an installment to the cybernetic squadron's weapon system. It is also armed with heat-seeking missiles that are fired from a top-notch missile launcher that is installed into the mechanism's back. Dynamus has three wire extension devices. Despite being AI driven, Dynamus is organically enhanced as well, acting as a backup system. The organic matter on Dynamus is made from Metroids, however was injected with the __**Subzero Serum **__so the parts would not freeze. If Dynamus's mechanical system fails, it will then rely on its organic system, which is complete with a diaphragm used for breathing_."

Samus quickly used Scan Visor to pick apart weak points, but was too busy dodging Dynamus's attacks.

"Samus, the creature's scalp is its central CPU. Perhaps if you impair it, you can then finish off its organic system and win this fight," Adam said. Samus nodded, and shot a charged missile at Dynamus's scalp. The robot took the hit, and stepped back. It then opened its missile launcher and started to shoot missiles rapidly at Samus.

"Fight fire with fire," Dynamus said. Five missiles came at Samus, and she quickly destroyed all but one before impact. A missile hit her torso hard, and she flew back and hit the wall. She could hear Dynamus laugh. Just then, Samus stood up, and shot a charged Plasma Beam shot into the robot's scalp. This time, the circuitry started to go haywire (no pun intended) and the robot started to squawk error codes. "_Error code: 746583647836. Memory could not be 'read' at line 87. Now scanning for viruses…no viruses found. External threat detected, must eradicate Samus Aran, bounty hunter..hshgydhajgduyfajjjj\\CC\hd7tehjsoa\Documents\Aran, Samus\error FILE CORRUPT. WARNING. THE SYSTEM IS NOW WIPING THE C DRIVE TO RID OF ANY DIGITAL AILMENTS. WE ARE SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE…BZZTZT!!!!!!_"

Suddenly, Dynamus shut down. Samus then tried to sneak around it and enter the door on the other side, but much to her misfortune, it was still locked. Dynamus's eyes started to blink, and it then started to speak again.

"Organic systems online. Backup system rebooting. The following files have been backed up:…"

Dynamus listed the files that were retained from after the wiping of the c drive. One of the files Samus heard was one that was dedicated to eradicating her.

"External threat detected. Eradication is required," Dynamus said. "You're screwed, Samus."

Dynamus lit its blade and swung at Samus, who took the hit. She fell over, and got back up in a flash. Dynamus stopped for a second, and the plating that covered its chest shifted outward, revealing the diaphragm scans were explaining about. Without further ado, Samus lodged three missiles into the diaphragm, causing Dynamus to stop breathing. Dynamus seemed to show signs of suffocation, and fell over. The right leg stopped pulsing as well as the left arm. Dynamus remained on its belly, and started to chase Samus at a slow pace. Samus stepped back and dodged the attempted slash from the energy blade.

_What to do now? I've done everything, _she thought. Then she saw the blizzard winds gushing into the room and remembered Protos. How did it fail? It froze because it had no wire extension devices.

"What are you planning?" Adam asked.

"I'm going to freeze Dynamus over, by destroying its wire extension devices. One of its predecessors failed because it froze due to no wire extension devices. The secondary purpose of said device is to keep the droid warm, and Dynamus has three of them."

"And with the blizzard outside, destroying the devices would cause it to freeze over?" Adam wondered.

"It should work like a charm," Samus replied. Dynamus opened the missile launcher and shot multiple missiles at Samus. Due to Samus's short conversation with Adam, all missiles hit Samus hard. She read how much energy she had, and panicked. She only had twenty-one energy left, and her suit was going off trying to warn her of it. Quickly, Samus shot a diffusion missile at Dynamus's neck, where the extension devices were, and the explosion destroyed all three. Dynamus started squawking more error codes, just when it started to freeze over on the spot. Dynamus then lay on the rusted floor, covered in ice as if he were an ice sculpture. He would not move again, as he is now obsolete. Suddenly, an Energy Tank shot out of Dynamus's frozen body, likely from its energy reserves Samus would've had to deplete if she hadn't thought of freezing him. Samus grabbed the Energy Tank, and her energy restored fully with one extra tank.

---------------ENERGY TANK ACQUIRED. MAXIMUM ENERGY CAPACITY RISES BY 100. ---------------

Samus then looked at the door, which was now unlocked. She entered the door, and saw a pedestal with an item on it. Out of instinct, Samus grabbed the item. Suddenly, she started to absorb energy, and her suit flashed, ending with a new color. The suit was mainly white with a tinge of gray, and the secondary color was black. Her helmet turned a lighter shade of blue, and her visor turned slightly pink. She then received a notice:

----------SUBZERO SUIT ACQUIRED. SURVIVE EVEN THE MOST EXTREME COLD TEMPERATURES. ----------

Samus took a good long look at her new suit, which looked like her Fusion Suit, only what was orange is now white and what was yellow is now black, and her helmet changed colors. To experiment, Samus entered the room with Dynamus in it, and walked outside. This time, she didn't feel her energy being drained. No, to her, the temperature was comfortable. Now, she could withstand this environment. Now, she can leave this forsaken planet.

**Author's Note:** I credit Zyborggian for the Vhozon Crystals/Safe Scan program concepts. Thanks to him, the story avoided two plot holes that would keep bothering those who read this fic.


	6. Blackout

**Chapter Six: Blackout**

Ridley paced on the rusted metal floor. He was wondering what exactly he could do to bring Samus here. Apparently, sending escorts didn't work, and such a result was one expected.

"Weavel," Ridley said.

"Sir?" Weavel replied.

"Might you have any suggestions on how to bring Samus to me?"

"How about trying the direct approach?" Weavel suggested.

"No. We would have to catch her off guard, and likely, she's prepared for anything at the moment. So, we have to make her not expect the unexpected," Ridley responded. "Try again."

"Oh hush it," said a voice, and Phantoon materialized nearby. "You really need to understand your soldiers better, damn it."

"Well…what is _your_ idea?" Ridley asked. Rather than speaking to answer, Phantoon waved a tentacle at Weavel, whom fell over.

"Think about it," Phantoon said.

"Ah…" Ridley replied, knowing what Phantoon was thinking. "Brilliant plan."

--

Trace climbed into a broken passage in the metallic wall, and into an elevator shaft. Outside was dark, as the sun stopped shining a few hours ago. Trace examined the room with his infrared scanner. No recent life signs; if any, the red in his sight was weak and faded. Trace huffed, and left the room.

--

As Samus was admiring the comfortable temperature, she noticed a pathway down a hill, surrounded by large and thick walls of ice. She started walking down the hill.

"Ugh," Samus said.

"What's wrong?" Adam asked.

"The blizzard is still clogging my visor with snow and ice," Samus replied.

"Well, there's no way to fix it now. Perhaps a later upgrade," Adam responded. "Anyway, I looked at your recent scans, and saw these words: **Project Dread**. Do you have any idea what this might be?"

"Not a clue," Samus said. "Most I know of it is that I have a scan mentioning it somewhere else as well. I think I got the scan from the Pirate Homeworld when I was trying to remove Phazon from the galaxy."

"Very odd…can you, perhaps, identify how old the file is?" Adam wondered.

"Unless you can, just forget about it," Samus said. She walked down the path to find a door, after blindly bumping into walls of thick ice. She opened the door, and swiped her visor with two fingers to rid of the ice. She was back in the base again, only a different section. She saw an elevator ahead, and walked to it. Samus scanned a nearby power conduit, which restored power to the elevator.

"_Access to the Ocul Breeding Sector granted. Please step into the elevator_," the scanner said. Samus stepped into the elevator, which started moving upward steadily.

"The Pirates seem to take a liking in this 'Ocul' family," Adam spoke. "I wonder what purpose they serve in the midst of their plans?"

"I've seen a branch of their species before," Samus said. "Can't quite place my finger on their name, but I remember that they were on Tallon IV, particularly the Chozo Ruins. They tended to annoy the hell out of me as I tried to Spider Ball up a track to get a Chozo Artifact. I met them again after I got a different Chozo Artifact, and I was distracted enough to get the Wavebuster. Oddly enough, those creatures, which were very small, were resistant to Super Missiles and my other weapons, whereas the Oculbyss died in one missile to the eye, let alone the missile wasn't of the Super brand."

"I'll have to guess, though, that they are the perfect test subjects for Metroid predation. That could be why the Pirates breed them to adapt to the environments: to observe a Metroid's natural limitations. From what I can tell, the Ocul family naturally adapts to their environment faster than almost any living creature in the galaxy. If this were true, it would save the Pirates the search for a creature from every environment possible, and then they could simply take an Ocul creature and force them to adapt to a particular environment, so three or four generations later, the creature has fully adapted," Adam explained.

"That makes sense," Samus replied. Adam almost replied back, but he stopped himself from talking when the elevator stopped moving, and the lights went out.

"Eh?" Adam wondered.

"Aw hell," Samus said. "The station must have blacked out. If I had a penny for how many times this sort of thing has happened, I would no longer need to be a bounty hunter to get money."

"Ah, yes indeed it blacked out. Well, looks like you're going to have to find an…"

"Alternate path to my target, I know, I know. I've heard this multiple times before. Wait…what _is_ my target, anyway?" Samus asked.

"That's just it: you don't have one. Be creative," Adam responded. Samus frowned at the remark, but she listened. Up above, Samus could see small sparks falling, however, they stopped soon enough. She climbed the wall by using ledges and wires. However, she was at a stopping point. She hit her head on a ceiling, and fell. She quickly grabbed a ledge, and held tight. "Samus, it appears there is an alternate door on the ledge above you. Since you cannot crawl through solid objects, may I suggest wall jumping?" Adam said.

Ah, wall jumping. Samus's favorite trick to perform. She used it many times before to get to unreachable places that could not be reached without the help of certain items. Without a second thought, she jumped off the wall she was on, started to somersault in mid-air, and as soon as her feet touched the opposite wall, she pushed against it, and flew back. Samus grabbed onto another ledge, and found herself where she needed to be. However, the door was frozen shut. Samus took out the Plasma Beam and melted the ice, and the door remained in place. It was only half-way open when it got frozen. Samus rolled into a ball and barely slipped through the opening on the door.

Down a few emergency passages, and Samus found herself in the Ocul Breeding Sector of Settlement Zero. The hall she was currently in was lined with stasis tanks and Ocul variants sleeping within them, except a few broken ones. Samus entered another door, and found many different environments that were used for testing the Oculs. Most, if not all of the environments, were frozen over. She found Oculands sleeping in the environments. Since the power went out, the environments much have lost heat. She continued. A door was blocked off, so her first instinct was to find an alternate exit before Adam told her those exact words yet again. As soon as she stepped onto the frozen cold ground of the breeding environments, the Oculands woke and roared. They had spotted her.

Samus quickly shot a missile into one of their eyes, and it died. The others closed their eyes and aimlessly tried to ram Samus. More and more stormed into the room, trying to rid of her. They sensed her as a Metroid.

Luckily for Samus, it was just then when a few Metroid larvae flew in and saved the day. They latched onto the skulls of the Oculands, and scared the rest away. But the Metroids were still hungry. They turned to Samus, who sighed in response. She froze one and shot a diffusion missile, making it explode. The other Metroids, angered, called for help. Just then, four Alpha Metroids staggered in with a Gamma Metroid following them. Samus was officially surrounded.

"Samus, they outnumber us by too far. Simply run," Adam said. Samus nodded, and started running past them to the nearest door. The Gamma followed Samus quickly and whipped her with the electric whip Gamma Metroids sport. She shot a missile, which caused the Gamma to recoil. Just then, multiple sets of fangs hopped up out of the frosty ground and started tearing at the Gamma Metroid. The fangs busted the core membrane, causing the core itself to fall out. The Gamma Metroid lay there, dead. Samus was puzzled. How could that have killed the Gamma Metroid? Suddenly, the other Metroids left, seemingly afraid. Samus looked around, and saw little tracks and something moving under the ice. Just then, a little creature popped out the ground, and screeched, similar to that of a Metroid. It was pure white, and had a body protecting its core. It was a little fellow, with one eye and three fangs. Samus pulled out her Scan Visor and scanned it.

"_A new __**[Creatures]**__ entry has been added to your logbook. Morphology: Ice Metroid. A Metroid that is genetically mutated beyond imagination. The Ice Metroids are very different in appearance from normal Metroid larvae, and are unable to float. Rather, they burrow. They are invulnerable to the cold, making them solely weak to explosives delivered by your Morph Ball system. They are unable to latch onto you, but rather they rip and tear with their fangs. Ice Metroids originated when a Metroid larva accidentally injected itself with the __**Subzero Serum**__ that which mutated their genetic appearance and abilities dramatically over several generations. They are so genetically different from a regular Metroid that they can be considered a different species rather than a simple mutation of the parent species. Use caution when handling Ice Metroids._"

_Ice…Metroids?_ Samus thought.

"Samus, do you think this might be what 'Project Dread' is based around?" Adam asked.

"No…" Samus replied. "The logbook states 'accidentally injected'. The Metroids did this to themselves."

"Well, take the logbook's advice and punish them with Bombs," Adam suggested. Samus agreed, and laid Bombs among the Ice Metroids. They subsequently exploded.

"Well…that was…simple," Samus said.

"I wouldn't expect their later metamorphic stages to be as simple," Adam said. "Be careful."

---

Ridley sat atop a tower in Settlement Zero. The tower was nearby an elevator Ridley hoped to find Samus taking. Weavel walked to Ridley.

"Sir…aren't you cold?" Weavel asked.

"Not at all," Ridley replied.

"Do you need anything?"

"Hm…by any chance, do you know how to send scan data to Samus, helping her find her destination?" Ridley asked.

"I could try," Weavel replied.

"Good," Ridley said. "Oh, and how is the Miteralis cure coming along?"

If he could, Weavel would have cracked a smile as he said these words:

"It's solved."

---

Samus entered through multiple rooms of the same thing: stasis tank after stasis tank. She wondered when the monotony would end. And it was then that she found something peculiar above a door. She scanned it quick.

"_Bioscan complete. The creature is a Pyrocul, the inferno variant of the Ocul family. The creature is in hibernation. Threat level: critical. Do not disturb._"

Samus ignored the creature, and entered the next room, which had an elevator. Finally! A way out of the dull repetition of that breeding sector! The only interesting find in there was the Ice Metroids. Though, since the power was out, the elevator didn't work. Samus sighed, and decided to climb the shaft. But just then, power flickered on, and the elevator was operational. Samus stepped on the panel, which took her upward. She heard a voice whispering to her.

"_Funny how options and desperation work, isn't it? When one has no options left, they turn to desperation. And when they turn to desperation, they choose the option they wouldn't have chosen when they were thinking normally. I find it very interesting to see this happen, and I will see it soon…_"

Samus was clueless of who the voice could have belonged to.

"Who is this?" she asked. She knew it wasn't Adam.

"_Who am I? Who are you? You are the Hunter, the biggest threat to the galaxy. As soon as your team realized this, they turned against you, and you refuse to hurt the organization that proved to you in their desperation that they are corrupt and untrustworthy. As soon as they understood you were capable of ruling this galaxy with just you and your willpower, they did their best to destroy you by keeping you isolated in a space station infested with deadly parasites. They knew you would try to destroy the parasites they were interested in…so they threatened to take these parasites away to test and do good for the galaxy…because they knew you would try to stop them. They knew you would destroy the station and rid of the X, and they hoped it would take your life with it. They had never expected you to destroy the source of the X with the station. Yet you did, and you survived as well. Now, they have no intentions of stopping at anything to get rid of you. Your friend says 'one of them will understand. One of them must'. How foolish. The Galactic Federation will get to you, Samus, and they will dismember you until they are sure that you are dead. And with this knowledge, you know you have no options, therefore, you turn to desperation. And in your desperation, you will choose the option you would not have chosen if you came to your senses. This, I assure you, will come true. Because desperation is a funny little thing that no sentient being has ever managed to overcome…_"

Samus heard every word, and spat at the thought. They were powerful words, but Samus hoped that the voice was wrong.

"Adam, track the source of the voice," Samus said.

"It's coming from somewhere on the opposite side of Settlement Zero…" Adam said. "Shall I pinpoint the coordinates?"

Samus nodded. Her map opened, and Adam quickly searched for the source. He then found it, and pointed at the room.

"How odd. It's in an elevator room," Adam said.

"Not a problem," Samus replied. "Now how to get there?"

"You should be able to reach it through the rooms between this elevator and that one," Adam said. "I know this should be fairly easy for you."

The elevator halted, and Samus stepped through the opened door. Right inside was a dead Federation trooper, whose body fell over when she opened it. This was definitely not a good sign. She scanned for life signs and cause of death.

"_Bioscan complete. This Federation trooper has multiple burns across its armor and body, implying that it may have been incinerated. Life signs do remain, however, as weak brainwaves pulse from the corpse. Its heart does not beat, however. Final estimate is that the trooper has only died less than six hours ago._"

Samus knew that the brain lives on for a few more hours after an organism dies provided the death was not caused by or involved with a severe cranial injury that ruptured the brain. She scanned the area for more corpses, and tried to do it before the power short circuited again. To her surprise, the floor had piles of dead Federation troops. Was this, perhaps, their rendezvous point?

"Samus, I detect Space Pirates approaching the vicinity. I suggest you move quickly," Adam said. Samus nodded, and walked on through the large room. Ahead of her were two doors, but she did not know which to take. Suddenly, the power shut off again, and the doors stopped working. "Damn! Just our luck. Samus, try to reconnect power to the doors. I am receiving odd transmissions from nearby emergency power nodes."

Samus scanned for any form of auxiliary power transmitters in the area, and found two.

"Based on your current map data, the door straight in front of you is the correct path to your target. Try to reconnect power to that one," Adam told Samus. Samus scanned the nearest transmitter, and the door to her right was powered on. "Incorrect transmitter, it seems. Try the other."

Samus scanned the other transmitter. A bit of electrical power shot through the wire behind the terminal, but then the electricity stopped as a bunch of small sparks shot out into the air.

"Most unfortunate…it seems the wire that supplies the door with electricity has been severed. Ah, well. We must persevere and try the one on your right," Adam said. Samus entered the powered door into an icy hallway. On the other side of the corridor, a glowing red creature hung from the ceiling. Samus walked a bit closer, which made the creature jump down. The ice around it slowly started to melt into water. Samus pulled out her scanner.

"_A new __**[Creatures]**__ entry has been added to your logbook. Morphology: __**Pyrocul**__. The inferno variant of the Ocul family. Pyroculs are deadly compared to their cousins. They radiate heat from their body at a constant rate, and are unable to be cold save for their eye. Pyroculs sport insect-like legs, and thus are capable of climbing any surface. They also spit a fluid that is only slightly colder than magma. It is also said that this fluid can melt __**Vhozon Crystals**__._"

_Another Pyrocul, eh?_ Samus thought. Before Adam made any comment on how Samus's safety is vital, she approached the Pyrocul. Its mouth started to foam the red liquid. She switched to Ice Beam and fired a charged shot into the beast's eye. After getting hit with a direct hit, the Pyrocul winced in pain and staggered backwards, busting the door behind it open with its tremendous girth. Samus followed it, and entered a large dome-shaped room. In the center lied an item Samus had the feeling was something her Power Suit could absorb and use. She quickly jumped down onto the lower level, and started to walk towards the item. The Pyrocul, having recovered from its pain, spat at the floor Samus was walking on. All around Samus, gargantuan tanks full of gasoline and afloraltite exploded, and caused the floor to collapse from beneath her. She fell into the icy cold blizzard outside. Samus landed in the snow face first, and then stood up. Out of the blizzard, a large white creature ran in and started shredding at Samus. She scanned the creature before anything else.

"_A new __**[Creatures]**__ entry has been added to your logbook. Morphology: __**Alpha Ice Metroid**__. Much like the Ice Metroid larvae, this creature burrows rather than floats. It also utilizes its tusks and claws more often than its life-draining capabilities. It also retains the same weaknesses as the larva stage, only, as expected, requiring more brutal force._"

Samus counteracted by rolling into Morph Ball mode and lying three bombs at once under the creature's belly. The core membrane broke after the explosions, and the creature fell over. Power to a nearby device was restored, and so Samus's first instinct was to try it. After stepping into the panel, the ground beneath her shone. Then, she was lifted into the air. Well, well, it was an elevator! The elevator lifted her into the glass tube protecting the item she had seen earlier, and she obtained it.

----------------------ARMOR SUIT UPGRADE ACQUIRED. POWER BOMB SYSTEM ONLINE. ----------------------

Well, this was a surprise. What were Power Bombs doing at a Space Pirate facility? Stuck in the tube, Samus immediately assumed it was made of some isotope of Benzium and laid a Power Bomb. The tube, as expected, busted open.

"Another ability crucial to your progression has been recovered. But what was a Power Bomb system doing here?" Adam wondered.

"I don't know," Samus said. She scanned the room and conveniently found a Pirate Data log entry. She scanned it.

"_Pirate data decoded and translated. Data entry title: __**Power Bombs**__. The entry is as follows: 'Many times we've attempted to mimic those damned birds, and every time we have failed. That is, we have failed up until now. We have stolen a Power Bomb and a spare, just in case, and reverse engineered it to the point that which we have successfully constructed a Power Bomb system of our own. While not nearly as powerful as the Chozos', nor as massive of a range, we have managed to successfully invent a Power Bomb system __**that cannot run out of ammunition**__, and still retain the effect of brutally annihilating objects made of __**Benzium**__ or any lesser metal. We have impressed Master Ridley with this, and have been awarded commander rank for it. We are truly honored.'_"

Samus was now puzzled and somewhat relieved at the same time. A Power Bomb system with unlimited ammunition? Sounded pretty sick.

She Hi-Jumped onto a ledge and returned to the large room with the severed wire, since she had no other way to go. She inspected the room for any alternate exits to her target, but had no luck in finding any.

"Samus, I have a suggestion. Perhaps you should try dropping a Power Bomb next to the powerless door?"

Samus liked that idea, and gave it a shot. She dropped a Power Bomb next to the door, and the door busted open. Samus walked through the opened doorway, into an even larger corridor. She started to hear footsteps. Suddenly, the lights flickered on and off extremely fast, and a Space Pirate appeared right in front of her, roaring. She quickly shoved a charged Plasma shot into the creature's chest, and it fell over, disintegrating. All around the room, Space Pirates popped out of nowhere. They started chasing after Samus, trying to grab her arms and legs, as if trying to pick her up. She dodged every attempt, and soon enough, GF troopers waltzed in and started letting their weapons loose. The Pirates turned around and shot back. There were about twenty of each side in here, making this a fairly large fight for an only somewhat large corridor. GF troopers came through and tried to shoot Samus, but she was saved again by the same unexpected savior: Sylux. Sylux came in and shocked all the troopers, and dragged Samus into a corner.

"See? This is precisely what happens when you do not take up an opportunity given by someone who hates you," Sylux said.

"I was afraid it would be a trap," Samus replied angrily. "I'm not stupid."

"But you _were_ stupid by not listening to me. See all this effort you put in to get through this hellhole? You could have easily saved yourself the trouble by coming with me in the first place," Sylux responded.

"Why do you work for the Pirates, anyway?" Samus asked. Sylux looked behind him.

"I was convinced," he replied. "Now, the offer is still available. Will you come with me, or not?" Samus immediately shook her head. "Very well, then," Sylux said. "Then I will force you to."

All of a sudden, Sylux sent a shock through Samus's Power Suit, and knocked her out. He picked her up and started to walk out into the heat of the fight. He walked past the Pirates and the troopers, who all stopped battling to watch Sylux carry an unconscious Samus Aran.

"Do not follow me," he told the crowd. "In fact, I shouldn't have to tell you to."

He opened the door, stepped into the doorway, then pulled out a grenade. He pulled the pin, and quickly jumped through the doorway after dropping the grenade. The door shut, and as soon as the grenade exploded, large pieces of rubble blocked the doorway, so no one could follow.

He carried Samus through a large hallway with security turrets that viewed Sylux as an 'ally with cargo' until he entered the elevator room.

---

"She's out cold," a voice said. Samus's eyes opened to a squint, and she looked around her.

"She's awake!" Sylux shouted, spotting Samus sit up. She held her hand to her helmet.

"What happened…and where am I?" she asked.

"You're in Settlement Zero, still. As of now, we are examining you for any irregularities in a decrepit laboratory I managed to repair," the other voice said. "So far, we found but one: the Metroid DNA within your bloodstream. Tell us, how did you obtain it?"

A further look after her blurry vision cleared up, and she recognized the other voice as none other than Weavel.

"Why should I tell you?" Samus asked snidely.

"We wish to…help," Weavel responded.

"Help? HELP?! You're all filthy scumbags who kill and steal for money and fame! I don't want your help!" Samus yelled. She then heard Weavel chuckle.

"Now, now, Samus. You and I both know that my kind dislikes theft. It's a tad ironic, considering we're Space _Pirates_, but it's the truth," Weavel calmly replied.

"He's right on that, Samus. It's in your databanks; after scanning some sort of crate, it gave you that exact information," Adam said.

"It doesn't matter," Samus said. "Why are you keeping me here?"

"I'm not authorized to tell you, but if you really must know…you can speak to this raid's commander," Weavel replied.

"And who might that be?" Samus asked. Just then, the door opened, and Ridley walked in.

"Good evening, Samus," Ridley said. "I overheard that you are curious as to why we are holding you here currently."

Samus started to run at Ridley angrily, but she had a shock go through her body again, but this time with weaker voltage. She fell onto her knees and became dizzy. She felt Sylux pick her up and put her back on the table she was laying on.

"Strap her in," Ridley said to Weavel. Weavel gave Ridley a nod, and pressed a button on the nearby control terminal. Tough metallic straps rose and wrapped around Samus's arms and legs. When she recovered control of her body from the shock, she yanked at the straps, but to her misfortune, they would not budge. Ridley turned to Sylux. "Excellent work, Sylux."

"Let me out!" Samus screamed.

"We will," Ridley said calmly. "If you listen."

Samus stopped yanking.

"To what?"

"Our little proposition," Ridley replied. He walked over to Samus and looked over her so that she could look into his eyes. "See, we know already that you despise us. Me, especially, because I killed your mommy. But now, we must share with you the truth."

Ridley could see the anger in Samus's eyes, but he could tell she was listening.

"First of all, we are simply astonished that you still try not to kill the same people that lied to you, over and over again. Everything they've done to you, everything they plan to do to you now…and yet you still side with the Federation. That just doesn't make any sense to me. Those backstabbing liars need to grow up and give power to who truly deserves it," Ridley explained.

"That can't be you," Samus said quietly yet in an angry tone.

"I never said it was. I was going to say the Chozo. They deserve to rule this galaxy, and as I recall, the Federation drove them away. I presume you already know the Federation's darkest secret?" Ridley assumed. Samus shook her head. "Well, then. It all started about five centuries or so ago. Before this, Chozo, Luminoth, Bryyonians…they all were the unsung rulers of the galaxy, and they were the true peace keepers. A group of humans and other foreign alien species joined together to form an organization called simply 'The Alliance'. These people were also true peace keepers. They helped lead this galaxy to a golden age of peace and prosperity. And it stayed this way until the rebels came. The rebels were horrible people. They were undercover, disguised as members of the Alliance. What did these rebels do? When the Alliance was not expecting it, they overthrew the leader of the Alliance and destroyed all faithful member of it, and did it so quickly and quietly that public galactic civilization did not notice. The new leader came to them, and told them that he was appointed new leader of the Alliance because the other had died. The sad part is, everyone believed it. They also changed to a new name, and everyone only suspected it as a mere name change for whatever reason. Do you know what their new name was?"

"The Space Pirates," Samus spat.

"No. Their new name was the Galactic Federation, believe it or not. And they were no better than us, aside from that they were afraid to show their true colors. They told galactic civilization exactly what it wanted to hear, and then they performed deadly experiments behind their backs. See, I was not stupid. I could tell from the look in Vogl's ancestor's eyes that they were up to no good. So what did I do? On Zebes, after my race's little war with the Chozo, I met the large lizard you know to be Kraid. Together, we stole metals from the Chozo to make a spaceship. We succeeded, and flew to other planets to salvage metals and other materials. We made bigger spaceships that could house more organisms, and soon, we created what you know as the Space Pirates. We got many troops and returned to Zebes and attempted to shove the Chozo off one last time, but yet again, they refused. We accepted defeat, and simply stayed under Zebes's surface. Our first few outings were on other planets in the Ooromine system. We soon became so big, that the Federation did not like us. So, they attempted to kill us. What did we do? We discovered the Metroids, and wished to vanquish our enemies with these monsters. So, we built the first non-Zebesian settlement here, on Vho. On the outer rim of the galaxy, where, at the time, the Federation was restricted to enforce justice because it was out of their limits. We bred Metroids and built other weapons to conflict the Federation here. Our first official battle happened on Bilium, the quarantined planet in Ooromine. After that, we conflicted with the Federation since, attempting to rid of them so the galaxy could return to its previous state," Ridley explained.

"Liar!" Samus shouted. Ridley sighed.

"No, Samus. We are not the liars, but rather, the Federation is. They've lied to you countless times, and we lied to you not even once."

"That's a lie in itself!"

"Oh, but is it really? When have we truly lied to you, Samus? Sarcasm not included, of course. Hm, let's see. When I promised that I would try and kill you, I tried to, did I not? When I told everyone we were going to go raid some planet, we did, did we not? We have never lied to you once, yet your anger prevents you from believing us," Ridley told Samus. "Samus, heed those words. If you consider everything I have just said, along with that we have never lied to you, then whatever I say about the Galactic Federation and their secrets," Ridley stuck out a claw and patted Samus's hand. "You know I'm telling the truth."

Ridley could see Samus crying, likely from anger, or from remembering her mother. In any case, Ridley hoped she had listened.

"Now, since you have heard the truth, I have but one last question for you: is it worth it? Is it worth it to take sides with the people who are trying to kill you now, while running from both them, and from the people who are doing nothing but trying to help you? Sounds a bit silly to me," Ridley said. He gave the signal to Weavel, and Weavel unlatched the straps holding Samus down.

Samus was astonished. Adam had not said one word. She whispered to him, "Is all of this true?"

Adam responded, "Yes, Samus. Unfortunately, every word spoken is the truth…"

"Were you trying to kill me this whole time?" Samus said, sobbing.

"I believed the Federation was wrong for all of this, but I knew that if I told you, you would run away from me. You can trust me, Samus, and only me. I was one of the few noble troopers there. I hope you understand…" Adam replied.

"Who is she whispering to?" Ridley asked Weavel.

"It appears to be a computer file with someone's brain uploaded to it. It seems to be speaking to her from within her helmet," Weavel responded.

"Adam…" Sylux mumbled. He overheard her whispering. Ridley turned to Sylux.

"Did you once know this person, Sylux?" Ridley asked. Sylux did nothing, but merely nodded.

"Whatever happened to 'One of them will understand. One of them must.', Adam?" Samus sobbed.

"That someone…was me," Adam replied. Samus looked at Ridley.

"What is your proposition?"

"Oh, it's simple. Join the Space Pirates, Samus," Ridley replied. Samus's eyes widened. She was desperate, and she felt like accepting the offer. That voice she heard in the elevator…could it have been? Ridley?

"Was it you who spoke to me on the elevator, Ridley?" Samus asked. Ridley looked puzzled.

"What on Zebes are you blabbing about?" Ridley asked. Samus forgot about her question, and thought more about her decision. She thought about accepting, in fact, she knew she was going to say it. But the only words that escaped her lips were "No."

"Pardon?" Ridley asked. Samus continued.

"I-I don't n-need your h-help to survive in th-this galaxy…" she said. She was confused now. She knew she was going to accept the offer, but for some reason or another, she was denying it. All of a sudden, she felt herself run out of the room into the elevator room. Ridley's eyes narrowed.

"She doesn't mean what she says," he said. "Either she is afraid, or something is making her like this."

"It's the computer, sir," Weavel said. "This 'Adam' character is making her do all of this. I found no irregularities in her brainwave patterns, sir."

"Very well, then," Ridley replied. "Phantoon, shut her system down for a moment so we can make her a new one."

Phantoon appeared in the room.

"Sure thing," he replied.

"Screw this," Sylux said, standing up. "I'm going to kill her!" Sylux ran out the room into the elevator room. After a quick glance of Sylux running out, Ridley sighed.

"Him too," he said.

"Got it," Phantoon replied.


	7. Mission Commence

**Chapter Seven: Mission Commence**

Samus ran into the elevator room, and stopped.

"What are you doing?" Samus cried out.

"What is necessary…" Adam responded. Samus gripped her helmet, and fell to her knees. Just then, Sylux stepped into the room, and sent a current of electricity through his arms.

"Adam…your time has come! Quit coming back to ruin my life again!" he shouted. Samus was wide-eyed.

"Adam…do you know who Sylux is?" Samus asked. Adam sighed.

"Not specifically, no," Adam said.

"Well hell, if Ridley can tell the truth, so can I," Sylux said. "It's been a mystery why I hate you and the Federation, and many people have developed different theories as to why, but none are correct. My true name is Robert Malkovich. I am Adam's brother, or, rather, I was. I was the older of us, yet Adam was more successful. He became a higher-up in this corrupt government, while I became a pathetic mining engineer. I was falsely accused for treason, and so, I was kicked out of the Federation without much notice or say in the matter. Before I was fired, I worked in a squadron with a peculiar man by the name of Rodney Aran. Your father, Samus. And I must say, old Rodney was the definition of 'son of a bitch'. He bossed us around when he wasn't commander of our squad, he accused many people of being liars, myself included…your father got me kicked out of the Federation, and with that, I vowed to despise any later generation of the Aran family. That includes you. As to why I hate the Federation as a whole, I was the first to learn about their corruption. As soon as I figured this out, I became a bounty hunter with the sole mission of taking down the Federation. I haven't had much luck since then. In fact, I was trapped in a horrible explosion while trying to rob the Federation of its core data files. They knew I was coming, and even set up decoy files to amuse me. That explosion left me crippled with multiple deep wounds along my body. How I remained alive, I am unsure…but I did. And someone came to rescue me. He hooked me up with wires to replace my veins and arteries, then supplied me with this armor…and I became notorious among the galaxy. With this, I could feel pain, emotion…but I could not feel death…"

"R-Robert?" Adam stuttered. It was pointless, considering he could not speak outside Samus's helmet.

"Adam…I never knew," Samus said.

"Neither did I, Samus," Adam responded. Suddenly, Sylux fell over. Phantoon materialized nearby him.

"If you choose to disobey orders, it will cost you dearly," he said. Samus raised her arm cannon at Phantoon, who subsequently disappeared and reappeared nearby her, waving a tentacle near her head. But Samus did not fall over as Phantoon expected. "The hell?"

Samus looked puzzled.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Damn Chozos and their advanced machinery," Phantoon mumbled. "I'm trying to shut you down!"

"What? How can you do that?"

"Fool! My body is made entirely from electrically charged particles! Thus, I can destroy power, and restore it as well!" Phantoon roared. "Remember that blackout? It was all me, Sammy. I did it to bring you in, and I spoke to you in the other elevator to make sure you were heading our way by giving you a target to aim for."

Samus's eyes widened. _That's how he destroyed the Wrecked Ship's power on Zebes_, she thought.

"Sylux went down with ease, but you…you need to endure an alternative method of shutting down. I will have to finish you manually," Phantoon said. He raised a tentacle, and disappeared. Samus lifted her arm cannon, ready to fight.

"Wonderful," she said.

"Samus, Phantoon is a tad different now. His weak point remains the same as last time…but he won't open his eye unless you force it open," Adam told Samus.

"And how do you suppose I will do that?" Samus asked. She heard Adam mumbling to himself, and then she heard "I got it!"

"Phantoon's mouth on the bottom of his body is weak to moderate strength explosives. Does that sound doable?" Adam said. Samus nodded, and rolled into a ball. She waited for Phantoon to materialize, and she rolled under and laid a Power Bomb underneath his body. Phantoon roared, and spun around. Samus unmorphed, and looked at Phantoon's eye, which was red and seemingly in pain. Samus unleashed a diffusion missile into the monster's eye. Phantoon roared even louder, and the machinery around the elevator flickered on and off within split seconds. When the power circuits stopped, the elevator shot upward. It shot up so fast that Samus fell over and clung onto the metal surface. When Phantoon's pain ended, he disappeared again.

"You _bitch_! I will end you!" he roared. "I will make sure your life will end as slowly as mine did!"

Samus struggled to stand up, and then the elevator slowed down. Rubble and debris fell from the walls, some of them falling onto Samus. She dodged most of the debris, and then the elevator halted. Navy fireballs with eyes staring at Samus as they bounced on the rusted metal surface appeared out of nowhere. She shot them after they bounced once, the same way she had done it on Zebes. Many of these fireballs shot out at once in a circle. Samus decided simply to avoid them with that large of a swarm. Soon, a large blue shockwave was unleashed across the floor, and hit Samus. She fell over on one knee with fire coursing across her suit. The fire itself didn't hurt too badly, considering the Gravity Suit could withstand magma. But the impact damaged her systems pretty bad. Phantoon appeared in the center of the shockwave, and floated close to Samus.

"Done yet?" Phantoon taunted. "I will knock you out like a crudely constructed power plant!"

"Enough!" a voice called. Phantoon paused, and stared where the voice came from. Samus followed suit. They watched as the edge of the elevator was bent, and a black claw pushed through. A few seconds later, Ridley climbed through the hole he made. "I never told you to kill her."

"But she deserves to die!" Phantoon roared at Ridley. "She is the Hunter!"

"And we need her," Ridley said defensively. "You cannot disobey authority."

"You are not my master," Phantoon angrily spat. "I will not take orders from the likes of you!"

"Then you may die for good," Ridley responded. "I've given you life after you were dead, and you repay me through betrayal?" Ridley pulled out a device with a button on it, and pressed the button. Just then, Phantoon started to fade away.

"NOOO!" Phantoon cried. "You bastard! I will not stand for this!" Phantoon finished disintegrating, and power was restored to the whole elevator. As an instinct in the elevator's programming, it shot upward at normal speed, ending slightly above on the surface. Here, the blizzard was not raging. It was just slightly cold. A normal human would freeze on contact with the atmosphere, but Samus would not require the Subzero Suit to walk in this area. Samus stared at Ridley.

"Why did you save me?" Samus asked. Ridley sighed.

"Phantoon was never my favorite of the bunch. He was always the most rebellious, and disobeyed orders to begin with," Ridley replied. "I do hope you decide to join us, Samus. Without you, our operation will be hopeless."

"Phantoon was once alive?" Samus asked.

"Yes, he was. But the Federation took him down and experimented on him. He died from their methods of examination, and…when we attacked that base, I figured he would be a useful psychologist for the Space Pirates. So…I revived him. I took his mind and uploaded it to this microchip," Ridley said, and walked over to where Phantoon died. He picked up a burnt out microchip and held it up to where Samus could see it. "I then programmed the chip to both absorb and give out electricity upon the mind's will. I gave the chip an electric current to form a body with, and it formed its former self. And now, only five hundred years later, I disrupted his electric current and burned the chip out."

There was a pause. Samus held her arm cannon up to Ridley. Ridley squinted.

"Who's doing that? You, or your little electronic buddy?" he said. Samus used her hand to push her arm cannon down.

"I…despise you to no end, Ridley…" Samus said. "But…we sometimes have to do what's necessary…to keep the peace…"

Ridley smiled. "Good," he responded. "So you will join us?"

"Y-yes," Samus said.

"Hold on!" Adam cried out. Ridley flinched and subsequently looked around.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"I am Adam Malkovich! I was once Samus's CO when she was in training and in police duty," Adam replied. Samus was puzzled.

"Adam, how are you speaking out like that?" she wondered.

"I always could, I just chose not to," he answered.

"So…you must be that computer that was forcing her to run from us," Ridley said. "What do you want?"

"If you all are the true good guys, why did you attack galactic civilization with peace ruining things like Metroids and Phazon?"

"Metroids were to attack galactic civilization directly, and Phazon was used to enhance our weaponry for attack," Ridley responded. "We never meant any harm."

"Then why did you harm so many different civilizations and ruin multiple sections of the galaxy?"

"That is the price to pay with our master plan in taking the Federation down. Besides, the Galactic Federation almost ruined the entire galaxy with the X Parasite," Ridley replied. "And you helped them."

"I could not think straight! My personality was not fully uploaded to the server!" Adam responded in defense.

"Don't give me that bull," Ridley barked.

"Stop arguing!" Samus cried.

"You want me to stop, Samus? Fine. Just let me kill him!" Adam yelled. He forced Samus's arm cannon up to point between Ridley's eyes, and opened the missile hatch. Ridley just sat there, looking unimpressed.

"Tsk tsk. You know I cannot die that simply, Malkovich," Ridley said quietly.

"I know," Adam replied. "But I can freeze you like we did on B.S.L."

"Hm…You could," Ridley said. "But then I bid your life farewell, for the Federation will finish you off sooner or later without us."

"How did you survive the X infection, anyway?" Adam wondered.

"That body you had was not me…but a clone of myself. A stupider, weaker clone of myself," Ridley responded. "It's a tad ironic. You died for Samus's life, and now you're throwing her life in grave danger. Perhaps you cannot be trusted?"

"I can," Adam angrily replied. "But no one else can."

"You say this, yet you are pointing Samus's arm cannon between my eyes, as if you plot to blow my head clean off my shoulders," Ridley said calmly. "Not very trustworthy, now is it?"

Adam lowered the arm cannon, and allowed Samus to regain control over her Power Suit. "What's the plan?" he asked. Ridley smiled.

"The Galactic Federation, as we know, is strong in multiple fields. They assign different species to these fields. And if we take out the key species to the Galactic Federation's vulnerability, they will eventually be easier to take out themselves," Ridley replied. "The point? Our scanners indicate that one of these key civilizations conveniently reside on this very planet. As far as we can tell, this species handles all of the Federation's air supply, and also helps keep the political branch of the Federation stable and organized. My hypothesis is that if we remove the leader of this civilization, the Federation will be scarce on oxygen and also fail a bit in their stocks and policies. It will not end them for good, but it will be a severe blow to their stability."

"And where exactly will we find this civilization?" Adam asked.

"We will have to do a search of the planet," Ridley said. "I could send a squadron with you, and…"

"Not if I take this planet first," a voice said. Ridley turned around, and saw a heat signature on a small protrusion on a nearby wall.

"Don't hide," Ridley said. "We won't bite."

"I'm not hiding!" the voice yelled. A red beam shot through Ridley's wing lobe, and Samus ran to take cover. Ridley ignored Samus running, and jumped up onto the protrusion to pick the creature up by the abdomen.

"What is this? A Kriken? Wielding an Imperialist?" Ridley said. "Not bad, but you'll have to be better." Ridley raised a claw to strike the Kriken in the skull, but was interrupted.

"Let him go," a voice behind Ridley said. He looked behind himself, and saw Sylux, staggering to stand upright. "He's my kill."

"Very well," Ridley replied, and dropped the Kriken to the ground, nearly twenty-five feet below. Sylux approached the creature after it endured a hard fall, and as soon as he got close to it, the creature said these words:

"I finally have you," it said. The Kriken jumped up, and pointed its cannon at Sylux's head. "And I'm not afraid of blowing your head off in front of your boss."

"How are you still alive? I shoved you out an airlock," Sylux whispered.

"I was rescued by my people," Trace responded.

"But you are in exile," Sylux retorted. And on that remark, Trace burst out laughing. After about ten seconds of laughter, he replied to Sylux.

"Hahaha…what gave you that idea? I'm not in exile! I'm already a commanding officer and a hero among my people, for introducing to them the Alimbic system," Trace said. "I just have to continue this duty of finding planets to invade." After that statement, Trace aimed the Imperialist back at Sylux's head.

"Go ahead," Sylux said. "I want you to do it."

"Pardon?" Trace replied. "After all you've done to attempt to remove the Federation from existence, you will just accept death here?"

"I'm already in hell," Sylux responded. "With my burnt flesh, having to rely on wires to survive…"

"I'm in no state to have sympathy for you," Trace said. "I'm in a state to kill you." Just then, Trace fell over. Behind him was Ridley, carrying a large metal pole.

"If he ever cracks something like that again, I'm going to have a little word with his emperor," Ridley said.

"Why did you save me?" Sylux asked.

"You know, you are the second person to ask me that within the past seven minutes," Ridley said without an answer. "And yes, I did just avert the question." Samus stepped out, and Sylux roared at her on sight, with sparking arms. Ridley held his arm out to stop Sylux. "She's on our side now."

Sylux huffed, and walked over to sit down.

"I think I've heard the plan," Sylux said. "But how will we execute it?"

"I believe we would need to split up in multiple directions, and have one of us stagger behind to cover our tracks," Ridley told both of them. He turned to Samus. "Considering you don't like working in large groups, would you please cover our tracks for us?"

Samus nodded in response. Ridley smiled. "Good," he said. "Now, let us start."

Samus ran and jumped off the side of a cliff. Ridley turned to Sylux.

"We have another duty for you," he said. "Please, follow me."

--

Samus fell down another pit nearby where she landed from the other cliff. As soon as she fell, she felt herself hit a frosted plant of some sort. She stood up, and the twig snapped. She landed next to a smoking ship. Samus knew who it belonged to immediately: herself. This is where she crash landed before.

"Looks like it took a hard beating…" Adam said.

"You were there with me," Samus replied. "The Federation attacked us, remember?"

"Vaguely," Adam responded. "It might be due to the fact that the sudden impact shut off all of my memory beyond a certain point."

"It's possible," Samus said. There was a pause. "Well, I made a large circle. Where to now?"

Suddenly, a creature jumped down and hit the tree, causing it to catch fire. Samus quickly reacted by pointing her gun at the creature, which felt nice now that she was controlling herself and Adam wasn't. It was another Pyrocul, or perhaps the same one she met before, seeking revenge for its injuries. The creature lashed at Samus with its dagger like leg, and hit her on the spot. It then screeched. Samus got back up, and fired a charged Ice Beam shot into its eye, and it roared. It started wincing in pain, and then caught on fire. The ice surrounding the Pyrocul melted into a puddle. Samus shot a few single Ice Beam shots into the Pyrocul's eye as it was forced open by the previous blow. The Pyrocul quickly reacted with its ultra-hot spit. The spit missed Samus, as expected, since its eye was covered in ice, and caused the nearby crystal to melt. It set itself on fire again, and forced the ice on its eye to melt off. The water resulting made the Pyrocul's eye sizzle while red hot. It quickly tried to ram Samus, who dodged the blow. The Pyrocul, instead of bashing into the wall head first, started to climb it. Samus started to shoot at it from below, but soon learned that she could only stun it in this position. The Pyrocul then tried to crush Samus from above, and succeeded. Samus lied underneath the large body of the insect, and started to feel her flesh incinerate. The Pyrocul had set itself on fire again. Samus could not lift the creature off of her. Suddenly, a large laser net swallowed the Pyrocul whole, and it flew back into Samus's destroyed ship. Samus stood up, and turned around, to see Weavel with his gun focused on the creature. Behind Samus, her ship exploded, an expected outcome of a fire-generating beast meeting gasoline.

"Ridley gave me strict orders to stick close to you," Weavel said. "So let's not screw around."

Samus frowned. "My sensors indicate an upgrade of some sort behind us," Adam said, ignoring the current situation. Samus turned around, and saw an upgrade floating where the Pyrocul was. She walked over and picked it up.

-------------PLASMA BEAM UPGRADE ACQUIRED. LEVEL TWO ONLINE. -------------

Samus was confused. _Level two?_ she thought.

"This upgrade seems to derive from the Pyrocul's ultra-heated saliva," Adam suggested. "And that means Vhozon Crystals should no longer be much of an issue."

Samus turned to Weavel. "Ridley told me to search for our target alone," Samus told Weavel.

"I know," Weavel responded. "I never truly said we were going to be side by side. Rather, in touch via radio. However, we shall not be more than two miles apart. Are we clear?"

Samus nodded, but wasn't too sure. Weavel walked up to her, and placed a radio transmitter on the side of her helmet.

"That should do it," Weavel said. "Now, would you like to go first?" Samus nodded again, and walked through the door.

Mission commence.

**Author's Note:** I credit Zyborggian for the multi-level Plasma Beam idea.


	8. The Hive

**Chapter Eight: The Hive**

Samus and Weavel walked into the hallway Samus travelled down before after she crashed. Weavel was walking about ten feet ahead. He opened the door at the end of the hall, and quickly stuck to the wall to sidle. Samus quickly followed suit.

"Troopers up ahead," Weavel whispered. "We need to work around them."

"How many are there?" Samus asked. "If there are only about ten, we can run through them safely."

Weavel stuck his head around the doorway and looked through. Federation troopers were walking around casually, and a few were standing, as if guarding something.

"There are only a few," Weavel said. "But the hole into the hive is sealed."

"Must we go to the hive?" Samus asked.

"Yes," Weavel replied. "It is the only way out of here, as the other passage seems to have experienced an avalanche."

"Well?" Adam said. "What do you propose we do?"

Weavel didn't reply. He just picked up a flat object from the leg on his armor, and held it up to Samus between his index and middle finger. Samus immediately guessed what it was.

"A bomb?" Samus asked. Weavel nodded.

"We are going to need a distraction," Weavel said. "Two heavy armor troopers guard the door."

"I can do it," Samus suggested. "I know the armor suit anatomy of that brand of Federation trooper, and they only send those in for backup. If I remove the regular troopers from the premises, I would lure the heavy armors to me. I won't be able to take them down, but I can short circuit them, causing a temporary armor suit lockdown. That'll be your time to bomb the door back open into the hive."

"Brilliant," Weavel agreed. "Now get going. We have no time to lose."

Samus nodded, and ran out into the open. She broke into Speed Booster and shinesparked a trooper. The result was that the trooper flew back at a high speed and cracked his spine on the tough ice wall behind him. The heavy armor troopers watched the fight, and waited to see if the regulars could handle it themselves. After that move Samus made, about ten troopers started to unload their clips onto Samus. Quickly, she took cover. She turned around and looked at the heavy armors, who returned a glance. She waved and then flipped them off. One of the heavy armors replied to that gesture by pointing at the location she was in. The regular troopers started to move in.

"Was that really the brightest idea?" Adam asked. Samus didn't answer. The troops moved around the corner, and started firing. Samus unleashed a charged diffusion missile and brutally destroyed the troops. She finished the rest off with a couple Plasma Beam shots. Finally, the heavy armors moved in and thwapped Samus on the back with their weapon. Samus fell over, and then rolled over with her arm cannon pointing at them. She shot a few of her heavy duty weapons at the two armor troops, but it had no effect. Samus held two fingers up high, and Weavel started sneaking around the walls of the outdoor corridor. He climbed the ledge, and jumped back down. The heavy armor troops heard the noise and took off after Weavel. Panicking, Weavel whipped out his energy sword. As one of the troops approached, he stabbed it in the stomach. The sword drove through the armor all the way out the troop's back. With blood slowly pouring out the troop's armor, Weavel was satisfied that this one was down and soon to be out. He pulled the sword out, and the body dropped to the ground. The other heavy armor troop started to run towards Weavel, whom Weavel quickly grabbed and pushed back. He held the troop against the sealed wall that was targeted to be blown up, and Samus quickly ripped out some wiring from the back of the troop's armor. The troop fell to his knees and started to shake, as his armor started to malfunction. Weavel ran back and stood next to Samus, and shot a net at the troop. The net held the heavy armor troop to the sealed door, and Weavel ran up to the shaking body. He pulled out his bomb, and stuck it to the troop's head.

"Bon voyage," Weavel said. He armed the bomb, and turned to Samus. "Take cover!"

Samus quickly hid behind a large rock, and Weavel did the same. Within ten seconds, there was a ridiculous explosion that shot through the entire area. Weavel and Samus quickly held onto their rock. After the explosion subsided, a heavy armor troop's helmet bounced across the ground and slid across the ice. Weavel stood up and checked the hole.

"It's wide open," he said. "Let's go."

Samus walked towards the hole and jumped down the same vertical passageway she travelled the first time she came through here. She remembered that the elevator would not work, but she came prepared this time. Weavel followed her down the hole. As Samus walked out into the green, moldy section of Settlement Zero, she was surprised to not see even one Omega Metroid. She got a closer look at the room she had been in before, and soon learned that this was once the barracks for the Space Pirate army.

"I can see why they took the barracks," Adam said. "Every planet is hotter towards its core, and this sector still has a functional heat generator, likely so the army would not freeze during bitter cold nights."

"The Metroids are very typical," Weavel said.

"Natural instinct can be a very predictable virtue," Adam replied. Samus noticed the Queen she had seen earlier was not here. That must have meant that the Queen was possibly hunting during that time. She also noticed a large hole next to a non-operational door. Next to the door was a large sign that said "EXIT THIS WAY".

"There's our exit," Samus said as she pointed at the hole.

"Are you insane, woman?" Weavel barked. "That way only leads deeper into the Metroid hive!"

"Yes it does," Samus replied. "But the elevator is obsolete, and there is no other path down here."

Weavel sighed. "Fine. But if we meet a Queen, I am going to leave it to you," he told Samus.

"Fair enough," she said. "It's my fault we're down here, anyway."

Samus walked across the room and through the hole, as Weavel slowly tagged along. In the next corridor were many eggs scattered across the ground. Obviously, this must have been the infant care center for Metroids. It also was obvious that the Queen was somewhere near.

"How do you slay a Metroid?" Weavel asked. Adam made a computerized sigh.

"Metroid larvae are peculiar creatures. They have a flexible membrane that cannot be destroyed at all because of how flexible it is. However, the membrane can be frozen. When the membrane is frozen, it is no longer flexible, and is subject to being shattered. Thus, you can break the membrane with brute force, preferably explosives. You can also force the entire creature to explode before freezing it if you have the correct weaponry," Adam explained.

"Thank you, computer man, for that wonderful anatomy lesson," Weavel said sarcastically. Adam didn't seem to detect the sarcasm and replied.

"You're welcome, cyborg," Adam said sincerely, while at the same time returning the blow for Weavel calling him 'computer man'.

"Neh," Weavel retorted. Samus and Weavel carefully sneaked past the eggs and through into the next corridor. The corridor was humongous. Samus assumed it was the biggest section of living quarters. Metroids were sleeping all throughout the room. Samus turned to Weavel.

"Don't panic and they won't wake," Samus told Weavel quietly. Weavel looked and saw the large population of Metroids flooding the area. He started to panic, but then held it in. Samus climbed down the crippled ladder to the floor, and snuck past a bunch of sleeping Zeta Metroids. Weavel did the same. Samus spotted the door and travelled to it. When she touched the wall, it fell over and made a loud _BANG! _All the Metroids popped up, and started to swarm towards Samus. Quickly, she jumped off the edge behind the wall she knocked down, and landed in a bowl shaped room. The bowl shaped curve was lined with some sort of gooey substance that was still solid enough to stand on. Weavel pushed and shoved through the crowd of Metroids and watched as they attacked Samus. He would've done something had there been only a few. An Omega Metroid went down and picked Samus up, and roared. Samus tried to shoot at the Omega Metroid, but her arm cannon was being held down tight by the creature's grip. The Omega Metroid opened its mouth and started to slowly bring Samus's head in closer to its jaws. She squirmed to get free, but failed. Just before the Omega Metroid closed its teeth in on Samus's head, a loud roar echoed across the room. The Omega Metroid dropped Samus and ran back up to the edge. The other Metroids followed suit. Samus heard stomping footsteps, and looked around with blurred vision from the drop. As her vision evened out, she saw what she feared she would run into. The Queen Metroid walked through a hole in the bowl and walked up to Samus. It roared again, and picked Samus up with its jaws. After flinging Samus around, the Queen Metroid threw her at a wall up high. Samus felt pain serge through her body, and she fell face flat onto the gooey terrain. She quickly picked herself up onto her knee, and looked up at the Queen Metroid.

"It…didn't…kill me?" Samus stuttered, confused.

"No. It wants to fight you, female to female," Adam said. "See, every Metroid is male, save for one in about ten thousand. That one female becomes the Queen Metroid. The Queen Metroid's lifetime is three times longer than a male Metroid's. This is so it has time to birth another female Metroid to take up its mantle. However, Queen Metroids of a separate Metroid population can lead another by challenging the Queen of the other population. With Metroids being territorial, and that you happen to be a female with Metroid DNA infused with your own, your being here is a signal to this Queen that you wish to challenge her for dominance over this particular Metroid population."

"Well, what do you know? The one time I get treated like a queen is when I'm challenged to a fight to the death with a gargantuan cannibalistic killer Metroid queen," Samus said.

"Irony is a wonderful thing, is it not?" Adam said. The Queen Metroid huffed and stomped, then clawed at the ground as a gesture of a fight being commenced. Samus sighed.

"I guess it's time to finish this," Samus said. She pointed her arm cannon at the Queen Metroid, whom replied with an eardrum-shattering roar. The Queen ran towards Samus with its jaws wide open, ready to split Samus in two. She responded with a hearty charged Ice Beam shot down the creature's throat. The Queen Metroid screeched, and stumbled over. It started squirming as if it were a turtle flipped on its shell, and Samus ran over and jumped on its belly. She started pelting the core membrane with Ice Beam shots. The Queen quickly flipped over and crushed Samus. After hearing a crack, the Queen roared as though it was victorious. Suddenly, an explosion took place under the Queen Metroid's belly. The Queen Metroid flew back about twenty feet and slid across the goo floor. Where the Queen once was lie Samus in Morph Ball form. She unmorphed, and walked towards the Queen. The Queen stumbled back to balance, and spat acid at Samus. The acid landed a direct hit on Samus, and started to burn away at her energy. Quickly, she ran to the side and attempted to get it off. The acid's effects wore off, and Samus stepped back into the fight. She had realized in her HUD that she only had thirty-seven energy left! She engaged combat as brutally as possible, but before her initial attack, something clonked her on the head. She picked the item up and realized it was a Repair Pack, something the Power Troopers of the Space Pirates used on Tallon IV to repair their suit. She looked up at Weavel, who saluted. Subsequently, an Omega Metroid thwapped Weavel on the back, and Weavel flicked the Omega Metroid off. Samus applied the Repair Pack to her suit, and it healed her all the way to full.

"Samus, the quickest way to end this fight would be to lay a Power Bomb into the Queen's stomach. Such an explosion within her would cause her core to spill out," Adam suggested. "But you will have to be quick. Being in the Queen's stomach will damage you severely."

Samus agreed. She pointed her arm cannon at the Queen. The Queen dashed after Samus. Samus quickly froze the Queen's four feet to the ground, and ran after the roaring monster. As Samus ran, she froze the Queen's neck in place, and when she was close, Samus jumped. In mid-air, Samus morphed into ball form and swiftly landed on the Queen's bottom jaw. She rolled down the Queen's throat quickly before the Queen closed its jaws. Just as Samus entered the Queen's stomach, she laid a Power Bomb to get the job done quick and easy. The Power Bomb forced the membrane to split open, and split open it did. Samus fell out the stomach as well as the Queen's internal organs. She unmorphed and fell to her knees.

"That hurt a little too much…" Samus said, exhausted from the depleted energy. The Queen went on rampage from the gutting Samus performed. Within fifteen seconds, the lack of vital organs caused the Queen to die down slowly yet quietly. Samus took a step, and slipped on the clear fluid that spilled out the core of the Queen. Samus slipped and hit the Queen's spilt pre-digestional acid. A small bit of acid slid into Samus's arm cannon, and as Samus stood up, she felt her arm cannon shake as an aura surrounded it. Suddenly, her arm cannon ejected brown acid.

------------------------------ACID BEAM ACQUIRED. MELT CERTAIN METAL ALLOYS AND ANATOMICALLY TARGET AN ENEMY FOR DIFFERENT RESULTS. ------------------------------

Samus was a tad confused. How was it any different from the Plasma Beam? Without asking, Adam answered that question.

"The Acid Beam is used to melt particular alloys that are otherwise totally indestructible. It also allows you to target different parts of an enemy's body for a different outcome. For instance, target an enemy's legs, and their mobility will be undermined. Aim at an enemy's arm or weapon, and they will be disarmed. If their weapon was not a part of their armor structure or anatomic make-up, however, they can pick the weapon up again. Aim for the body, and they will disintegrate. Aim for the head, and their head will melt as the rest of the body falls over. Of course, larger enemies would only be damaged if you use Acid Beam on them," Adam explained. "It also infuses an extra Metroid gene into your DNA: the ability to drain energy from the enemy. Your suit no longer accepts Energy Tanks anymore, as you are now equipped with a single large health bar that depletes significantly slower than your normal energy reserves when damaged. You can thank the Queen for all of this, Samus."

Samus was astounded. A different kind of energy reserve…with the ability to drain energy from foes. This could be a blessing or a curse, or both. But now Samus felt stronger than ever before. The cannibalistic Metroids hopped down and surrounded Samus. Weavel stuck behind the crowd. The Omega Metroids kneeled and roared. The other Metroids made their funky sounds. The crowd cleared a way for Weavel to walk through to Samus. At the same time, they tried to kill Weavel. Samus quickly silenced the Metroids before Weavel was dinner.

"What do you know? You're slowly becoming one of them," Weavel said sarcastically. Samus ignored Weavel. She figured the Metroids would not understand English, so she signaled for them to move away and stay. The Metroids did exactly as follows. Samus and Weavel then left the bowl shaped room out the side they never touched. Down an emergency exit, and the two were outside again, out in the bitter cold.

--

Sylux and Ridley walked down the halls of the mother ship, still docked on Vho.

"Why am I here and not removing the evil race like Samus and Weavel?" Sylux asked Ridley.

"Because, good fellow. You are of other importance to us…" Ridley replied. Ridley opened a door into a room with a testing table. "Lie down."

"No," Sylux retorted. "I will not be tested on."

"Don't think of it that way. Think of it more like…a dream," Ridley said.

"A dream?" Sylux didn't sound impressed. Suddenly, a large object hit Sylux square on the helmet's scalp, and Sylux's machinery entered lockdown. Subsequently, Sylux fell over, as if he was unconscious.

"Whoever fixed up his armor programmed the realism in very nicely," Ridley said. He turned to a Pirate scientist holding a thick metal pipe. "Strap him down."

The scientist nodded, and threw the metal pipe to the side. It left the room and entered the one next door, which was visible from the first room through a soundproof window. The scientist pressed a button as Ridley placed the unconscious Sylux on the table. The button triggered a few metal straps to rise and wrap around Sylux's mechanical limbs to hold him down.

"Send a concentrated serge to make him remain in lockdown for twelve hours," Ridley told the scientist. The scientist nodded again, and pressed another button, which sent an electric current through Sylux's body. "Now let's cut this baby open."


	9. The Frostbitten Wasteland

**Chapter Nine: The Frostbitten Wasteland**

"What is this?" Ridley called for the Space Pirate scientist. The scientist left the monitor room and entered the surgical room. He walked up to Ridley, who responded with a scalpel covered in some form of ooze.

"I'll take it to the testing labs right away, sir," the scientist said.

"Good. If my hypothesis is correct, and that ooze is exactly what I think it is…then we have our key to administering our cure for Miteralis," Ridley replied. "It's about damn time that virus goes away."

The scientist left, and Ridley continued to dissect Sylux's anatomy. Suddenly, Ridley heard the running footsteps of a Pirate behind him.

"Sir Ridley! Sir Ridley! Come, quickly!" the Pirate called. Ridley turned around and glared at the Pirate.

"What is it?" Ridley asked.

"Down at the vaccination labs…a Pirate is cornering two of his friends…the catch? He's infected," the Pirate panted. Ridley's eyes widened.

"Dear Lord! I must stop him!" Ridley yelled. Ridley ran out into the wide hall and started flying towards the vaccination labs. Ridley took a few turns, and busted through a large double-door that led into the testing labs. He flew right over the hangar-sized corridor and through another double-door. He took one more right turn and stopped. The incident was taking place fifty feet in front of him. "Stop, you menace! You must be treated!"

The infected Pirate was very muscular, more than an average Pirate should be. He turned his torso around to look at Ridley with blank white eyes. The Pirate was drooling.

"Oh my," Ridley whispered. "He's near the final stage of Miteralis."

The infected Pirate turned back to face the two cornered victims, and roared.

"Why are you doing this?" one of the victims asked. He got no reply. Finally, the Pirate jumped in and bashed the victims' skulls into the metal wall. The victims fell to the ground with large dents in their head. The infected Pirate roared, and then suddenly seemed to realize what he had just done. Ridley began to see tears slowly leak out the infected Pirate's eyes. Suddenly, he pushed the barrel of his claw gun against his head, and fired. Ridley looked away as soon as he realized what the infected Pirate was about to do. After the bang noise that the gun made, Ridley looked at the infected carcass. It lay on the floor, with a gaping hole burnt through its head. The wall to the Pirate's left was a mess due to what he did to himself.

A few Space Pirate scientists ran in and stood next to Ridley.

"What happened?" a scientist asked, panting. Ridley stared at the carcass.

"Misery happened, good fellow. And this poor Pirate wanted to get out of it," Ridley replied.

"Was it Miteralis again?" another scientist asked. Ridley only nodded. "Augh! I've had enough of your secrets! We must chart Miteralis and its effects immediately so we can warn the civilians. Then, we will have no more annoying questions!"

"Alright," Ridley responded. "I suppose it's time for you all to know."

Ridley led the scientists into a conference room with a large computer monitor in the back. He signaled for them to take a seat, and they did so. As for Ridley, he stood up in front of the monitor.

"What do all of you know about Miteralis?" Ridley asked aloud.

"Uh, its name?" an aggravated scientist responded, being a smart aleck.

"That it's fatal," a less aggravated scientist said.

"Very good. Yes, indeed, folks, Miteralis is fatal and you _will_ die from it. We are currently investigating how to apply a cure. Until then, we must quarantine those in the early stages," Ridley said.

"What are the symptoms?" a scientist asked.

"It starts with a gradual increase in strength. This symptom remains constant throughout the entire duration of the pathogen's effects. If you wake up one morning, and seem stronger than usual whilst knowing you have not done any sort of physical activity to set you in that shape, you must see a local doctor immediately. It likely means you have been infected. There is no pain in the beginning, however, making it harder to detect without a scan for abnormal viral activity," Ridley explained.

"And how is this strength a bad thing?" the aggravated scientist wondered.

"The key phrase is 'gradual increase'. It doesn't stop. Your muscles continue to expand and grow, and your tendons eventually have no time to catch up with them in this growth. Thus, your tendons will, eventually, detach from your bones, making you a flabby organism. With the muscles detached, you cannot move that part of your body. But your muscles continue to grow even after that, as the bacteria inside grows within them. Soon enough, your skin will split open due to oversized muscles grown without time for your body to adjust. The virus will detect the external atmosphere, and leave the muscles to find another host to breed in. In this process, there is much pain, and multiple other effects to be noted," Ridley said.

"Why is it nicknamed the Global Exterminator Virus?" a scientist asked.

"It gets part of its nickname from the other effects it causes. First to be noted, the eyes of the host go blank white. The host tends to salivate more than usual, and it also gains a peculiar mentality that which makes it want to kill everything in sight. The truly scary thing here is that a host in the stage before when the tendons detached is stronger than almost every organism in its environment, making it entirely possible to slay even the most resourceful and amazingly well-trained soldier with the swing of its arm."

The scientists gasped, and then there was a pause. They engaged in a private conversation Ridley could not hear. He sighed and waited for them to stop. After a few minutes of quiet whispering, the scientists turned to Ridley.

"Where did this disease originate from?" one asked. Ridley stood up straight, as if he just woke from a bored sleep.

"Bilium," Ridley said.

"Is the pathogen just floating about in the atmosphere of the planet, making it deadly to touch, or is it from another cause?"

"It does inhabit the atmosphere of Bilium, however, we also believe that the mites that almost dominate the planet carry the virus, hence why we gave it the name Miteralis," Ridley replied. "Our men have been bitten by the mites during our first battle with the Federation, and someone brought a culture of the virus here."

Suddenly, the scientist who was helping Ridley with dissecting Sylux barged in.

"Ridley, come quick!" it said. "It's Kraid."

Ridley hopped up, and started dashing to the lowest chamber of the mother ship, where Kraid resides.

"Wait!" the scientist called out. "You may wish to keep a safe distance. Contacting him would be the best idea."

Ridley nodded. He dashed into the contact room of the mother ship and contacted Kraid. A small screen descended from the ceiling and turned to face Ridley. After a short pause with static, Kraid appeared on the screen, slightly giggling.

"What the hell are you giggling about?" Ridley called. Then he thought about what he just asked. "On second thought, just answer this. Why did a scientist have to interrupt a meeting to get me to contact you?"

Kraid looked at the screen.

"Oh hey Ridley," Kraid said somewhat happily. "I just made some new friends here, and when I showed them to this one dude, he freaked out."

Ridley's eyes widened.

"Put your new 'friends' on screen. Now. I demand it," Ridley told Kraid.

"Well uh…okay," Kraid said. Kraid reached out with his gargantuan, two-fingered claw and turned the screen down to his enlarged belly with his stomach spikes loaded, as if ready to fight. Ridley saw a couple blue-yellow-red-green bugs crawling about Kraid's enormous body as if it were their habitat.

"These dudes are pretty cool," Kraid said with his booming voice, the voice of a giant. "I don't know why that guy freaked out when he saw them. Eh, I guess he's afraid of bugs or something like that."

"Kraid…" Ridley said, his voice trembling slightly. "Those are bugs you need to be afraid of, too."

"Why? I mean, they are-"

"Kill them all. Now," Ridley demanded.

"No way, man. I'm not gonna kill a few innocent bugs," Kraid replied.

"Innocent? My ass! Do you even know what those bugs are?! They are _Bilius rali_, a.k.a. ralis mites. They carry the pathogen you and I know as Miteralis!" Ridley yelled. "Kill them all _now_!"

"I don't think they're Biliukerakitura…whatevers, dude. They don't seem to harm me at all," Kraid replied.

Ridley roared with anger and a hint of fear.

"Then that might make you a carrier!" he yelled. "And if you're a carrier, we will kill you, Kraid. There is no doubt about that! We don't care if you are almost my rank in hierarchy, if you are the last cause of Miteralis, we will kill you! Understood?"

Kraid yelped, and replied.

"Yes sir," he said.

"Good," Ridley replied. "Now kill them all before they make you sick or a carrier, provided you're not one already."

--

Samus and Weavel stepped out into the frozen wasteland of Vho. With the Subzero Suit, Samus's suit's functions could not be frozen, and thus, she could check the temperature.

"Negative twenty-six thousand, eight hundred seventy-three degrees," Samus read aloud. She said it through the Radio Visor so Weavel could directly hear it. Otherwise, the loud blizzard would drown out her speech. "That's ridiculous."

"But true," Adam said. "The lowest temperature this area of Vho has ever experienced is about negative three thousand degrees. This right now is barely a discernable fraction of how much colder it can get."

"Well, now I understand why Ridley gave me some 'Subzero Serum' shot before we came here," Weavel said.

Samus turned to Weavel.

"Do _you_ know what Project Dread is?" Samus asked.

"What?" Weavel asked. Both of them started to walk forward. The outdoor area they were in had a major blizzard whooshing about, and the nearest door was on a wall at the far end of the colosseum-shaped area they were in.

"I said, do you know what-"

"I heard you," Weavel said. "I just don't know what you're talking about."

"Enough of these lies!" Adam called through the Radio Visor. "You are conspiring against us and you know it!"

"No we aren't," Weavel said, assuring. "I have no clue what this 'Project Dread' is, or what it could be."

"I'm sure Ridley does," Adam said in a sour tone.

"Yeah, you know what? He probably does. But does that mean you have to know about it as well? We offer Samus help and protection, and we ensure that's what we deliver. And for you, a former Galactic Federation general to butt in to our business just shows how corrupted even the most trustworthy Federation general can be," Weavel told Adam off. "So, just shut the hell up, and focus on matters at hand. For one, how the hell we get out of here."

Adam kept quiet about Project Dread after that, no matter how much he wanted to ask about it.

"Fine, then," he said. "I will ask again, however, when _I_ feel the time is right."

"You go right ahead, asshole," Weavel swore. "I really don't give a damn what you do."

Samus sighed as though she saw this sort of conflict coming. But she got over it. They passed through an arch-shaped structure and found two paths around a gigantic iceberg grounded on the frozen ice. Weavel turned to Samus.

"I know you rather work alone. I get that. Here's a good place to start," he said. "Just keep your Radio Visor on when either of us needs to talk."

Samus nodded, and looked to her right.

"I'll go that way," she said, and without warning, walked that way. Weavel turned and walked down the path to his left.

Samus entered a large field of frozen ice. She looked in all directions, and could not see a thing except for what was below her.

"Well, we will just have to cope with this difficult vision problem until we find something that will help," Adam said. "I'm sure that this frostbitten wasteland here holds many surprises, no matter which direction you go."

Samus nodded, and went straight ahead. After walking about fifty feet, she bumped into a wall.

"There's the first surprise," she said. She turned to her left and walked. She found a cave opening in the wall, and entered it, hoping she would find a way through. Samus stepped into the dank, dark cave and set up a source of illumination. No life could be detected above sea level. But suddenly, a creature the size of Samus dug out a hole it made in the ice. Her bio-detector pinged now, telling her that one bioform is walking about. She had never seen such a creature before, yet, it looked so familiar. She switched to Scan Visor and scanned the creature.

"_A new __**[Creatures]**__ entry has been recorded to your logbook. Morphology: __**Zeta Ice Metroid**__. A young Ice Metroid with its first teeth and claws. Zeta Ice Metroids are typically larger than Zeta Metroids of the species _Patrycist familiaris_. They are also more aggressive, and, like other Ice Metroid forms, burrow rather than trudge around on the surface. Beware of them; they do not die easily_."

Samus lifted her arm cannon and felt the kick of her shot at the Zeta Ice Metroid. The Zeta Ice Metroid refrained from recoiling, and dashed after her. Samus quickly stepped out of the way to avoid damage. The young Ice Metroid pathetically roared in anger, and took a dash at Samus again. She turned into Morph Ball and laid a Power Bomb. She felt the sharp claws scrape away at her, and she rolled back. She unmorphed, and saw the Power Bomb. She observed the reactions of the creature, and gathered that the Power Bomb was harming it. The fight wasn't over, though. The Zeta Ice Metroid dashed at Samus again, despite the pain it was clearly enduring at the moment.

"I suggest you continue bombing it," Adam said. "It would make the most logical sense."

"I suppose…" Samus replied. She rolled into a ball and laid another Power Bomb, this time rolling out of the way fast enough to avoid another deadly blow from the predator. This time, the core membrane of the Zeta Ice Metroid spilt out. The body lay, seemingly deceased. Samus walked over to the creature's body, and recorded a short clip of the creature as it lay dead. She then sent the video over to Weavel through the Radio Visor.

"What's this?" Weavel asked.

"Just stay away from them," Samus simply answered. "How are things working for you?"

"Fine," Weavel responded. "Nothing for me to fear quite yet. How are you?"

"I think that creature's body is enough of an explanation," Samus said. Suddenly, the carcass of the Zeta Ice Metroid hopped up, and roared at Samus. It had its clear colored guts pouring out, and some disgusting green tissue hanging from where its core used to be. "Holy crap."

"I see it," Weavel said. "It isn't pretty, that's for sure."

"Hold on," Samus said. She lifted her arm cannon, and shot a few globs of acid from her Acid Beam. The acid hit the Zeta Ice Metroid, and it went berserk as steam unnoticeably rose into the heavy snow flurry. The monster unpredictably ran at Samus and started to shred at her suit. She felt the claws shredding at her suit, her external skin. The attack was so quick and unpredictable; Samus did nothing to stop it for some time. But then, she pushed it off with strong force. She quickly aimed her arm cannon at the spot where she shot her Acid Beam, and a stream of brown fluid connected her with the wound. Soon, she felt her energy replenishing. After a few seconds, the Zeta Ice Metroid shrieked one last time before it shattered into ash.

"Owned," Weavel let out. "There's no way that mofo is coming back."

"I think that's what it feels like to drain a creature of its energy," Samus said.

"Quite," Adam spoke.

The blizzard seemed to have died down a bit. Samus could see her path easier than before. She followed a natural hallway surrounded by ice. Soon, however, she ran into another wall.

"Crap," Samus spat. "This is getting annoying."

"Remind me why Ridley didn't offer you a ship?" Adam asked.

"Because, computer man, Ridley knows Samus and her traveling alone needs. Plus, the blizzard probably couldn't let the ship stay airborne for long," Weavel answered.

"Right," Adam said in a very sarcastic tone. "Anyhow, have you found anything yet, cyborg?"

"Nope, nada, zip, zilch," Weavel replied. "Unless you count pure white snow gushing across the area as 'something'."

Samus stepped into a shallow valley. It seemed as though the blizzard died down a bit, so now she could have less worries of bumping into another wall of ice. She walked down onto a large, circular piece of ice, and Samus noticed that it was a dead end. She turned around to leave the area, until the ice underneath her cracked.

"Um, Adam?" Samus asked.

"Yes?" Adam responded.

"Are we on an ice lake?" Samus wondered.

"I'd say so," Adam answered. "It appears that you aimlessly waltzed onto a large frozen lake. The ice must be very thin here. No worries, though. The Subzero Suit should protect you from the frigid water."

"That's not my worry, Adam," Samus said. She pointed downward at the ice at her feet, and then looked down so Adam could get a decent view of the lake. A silhouette depicting a gargantuan monster shook, and then roared so loud that it could be heard from out of the valley.

"What the hell is that?" Weavel wondered.

"An indigenous species of sorts, perhaps?" Adam suggested.

"No effing duh, computer man," Weavel retorted.

"Well excuse me for answering your question," Adam huffed.

"A better answer would be more helpful, you know," Weavel spat.

"Well, sir, I may be a computer that is constantly fed useful Intel, but that does not imply that everything computes with my CPU," Adam said back.

Samus broke the argument up and pointed at the crack that became even larger. She looked straight at it so Weavel and Adam could see it. Suddenly, one final roar was let out, and a giant arm that looked as though it belonged to an insect busted a giant hole in the ice lake. The arm slammed down onto the flat ice surface and seemed to pull the rest of its body up. The monster broke an even bigger hole in the already-split ice, and showed its face to Samus. Samus made sure the rest of the group could see it. She quickly held her arm cannon to point at the beast, ready for attack. The creature kneeled down as its feet seemed to plant their selves into the ice. In terms of size, the monster stood well over forty feet tall, and if it were to stand on a pair of its four legs, it would probably reach to be a total height of one hundred feet. It had many spiky, monstrous details that looked as though they could be used for stabbing its prey. The creature seemed to have the ability to execute coordination between its head and the hinges of its legs, as the monster's head rotated in synchronization with its leg hinges, each moving in the opposite direction of the other. The beast stopped rotating, and finally planted its feet into the ice. It then kneeled closer to Samus, and opened its one eye.

"I should have known," Weavel said, staring at the monster through the static-y Radio Visor in terror. "It's another fucking Ocul."

"Am I the only one to see this coming?" Adam rhetorically asked. Since the question was clearly rhetorical, no one answered him. "It seems you Space Pirates have taken advantage of the Oculs' incredible ability to evolve into a different species that is far better adapted to the environment within only a few generations. Given how quickly they reproduce, there must be over one hundred different variations and species of them by now."

"Closer to over five hundred," Weavel corrected Adam. "Ridley is much older than you think."

The constant conversation going on seemed to anger the Ocul, so it roared again before its head dove for Samus. Samus quickly rolled out of the way, and switched to her Scan Visor. She scanned the new Ocul species.

"_A new **[Creatures]** entry has been recorded to your logbook. **Morphology: Frezocul**. An Ocul that easily withstands subzero temperatures with no issues, and is extremely well-adapted to surviving under and above frozen bodies of water. Frezoculs have wonderful head-leg coordination, allowing it to rotate in a synchronized fashion. The Frezocul towers above many creatures in height, and has adapted to feed on hydrogen oxide. It obtains its nutrients from the bacteria that survive in the frigid water, and as such, lacks a decent mouth. Rather, Frezoculs have a tiny 'vent' of pores on its underside that allows it to roar as a defense mechanism against competition. It also has spikes across its body and legs to scare away any competition. Frezoculs are very territorial, and have a long life span that can extend to about two centuries. They have hooks on the base of each leg that enables the creature to hang on to ice or even perhaps any solid surface. The monster, however, obtains its nutrients through the base of each leg. It is also known to starve at a drastic rate. It must feed on the vital nutrients constantly. This means if it were to fall over and have all four legs detached from the ice and water where which it obtains its nutrients, then the Frezocul would die of starvation within a time frame of ten seconds_."

"How very peculiar," Adam said. "Should we preserve this specimen and allow it to survive?"

"Honestly, Adam, I don't think it'll let _me_ stay alive!" Samus called. The Frezocul swung a single leg at Samus. Samus was knocked over onto her back on the thin ice. She was surprised when she didn't fall through. "Since the ice is so thin, why doesn't the monster fall through it?"

"Its legs must have some sort of a weight stabilizer on these 'hooks'," Adam suggested. "That would explain things quite nicely."

"So despite the fact that it is heavy, it doesn't fall through thin ice," Weavel restated the fact, and shrugged. "Go figure. Sounds like something Ridley came up with in a spur of the moment."

"Samus, if the creature won't let you leave this small valley, I'm afraid that you're only option is to—"

"Seek an alternate route?" Samus made a smart remark.

"I was going to say to slay the beast, but if you could find an alternate route, things might turn out to be better in the end," Adam responded. He completely ignored the fact that Samus was being a smart aleck on her most recent remark.

"Well alright then," Samus said. "I'd better get to killing."

--

Trace stood up. He had felt a sore pain both on the back of his head and on his back itself. He rubbed the sore spot, and shook it off.

"Damn," he swore. "Sylux escaped again."

The Kriken pulled out a telecommunicator and phoned his Homeworld. An eerie voice picked up.

"What is it, Trace?" the voice hissed.

"Emperor Gyrion," Trace said clearly into the telecommunicator. "I think I've found a decent planet to take control of."

"What are the coordinates?" Emperor Gyrion asked Trace.

"You'll find it in the outermost system of the galaxy," Trace spoke. "The specific planet is white."

"I hope this had better not be another screw-up, Trace," Emperor Gyrion said.

"That makes two of us, sir," Trace replied. The emperor terminated the signal, and Trace put his telecommunicator back into one of his pockets in his armor. He walked to the edge of the roof of one part of Settlement Zero, and jumped across to the snow over a steep gap. He landed gracefully on the top of an ice wall, and started walking towards where his instincts told him to go.


	10. Extraction

**Chapter Ten: Extraction**

"The blizzard seems to have died down, sir," a Space Pirate pilot said to Ridley.

"At a notable rate, I assume?" Ridley replied.

"It is now safe to fly towards the target," another Space Pirate said.

"Alright, hop to it, then!" Ridley demanded. The Space Pirates yelled yes sir out loud, and began the engine of the mother ship. One of them began to steer in the supposed direction of their target. "What is the distance?"

"Around two hundred miles, sir," the pilot replied.

"What? Then how did these people not find us out of all this time Settlement Zero has been here?" Ridley wondered. A Space Pirate cartographer walked up to Ridley.

"Our geographic scientists have mentioned that these peoples' infrastructure is isolated from Settlement Zero by the bitter cold temperatures in between," the cartographer informed.

"Ah," Ridley replied, slightly interested. "So we outsmarted an ancient race, eh?"

"Ehh, how so, sir?" the cartographer asked.

"We established a serum that will enable you to endure any freezing temperature with ease. You would think that an ancient species that has probably lived here for hundreds of thousands of years would beat us to the idea wouldn't you?" Ridley wondered.

"The other thing is, is that the area between the infrastructure and Settlement Zero seems to have ruins somewhere in there. We drew conclusions that it is some sort of burial ground for the race, that is dishonorable to disturb, but we can't be quite so sure for now," the cartographer answered. Ridley thanked the cartographer for the information, and told him to finish whatever he was working on.

"How fast is the ship moving?" Ridley asked the pilot.

"Around one hundred fifty miles per hour, sir," the pilot responded. Ridley looked at what the pilot was doing. He was surveying the ground for any sort of checkpoint the mother ship could stop at in case of emergency.

"I'll tell you what," Ridley said to the pilot. "Let me take the wheel, and you take a break."

"Really, sir?" the pilot hesitated.

"I know how to fly a ship," Ridley said.

"I know, sir. You easily outmatch me in the area; my issue is, well, is it really okay for me to just leave my position?" the pilot asked, confused. Ridley very rarely offered breaks to Space Pirates of a lower ranking than scientists, so this was very unusual.

"As long as I say it's okay, it's okay," Ridley replied in a very casual tone.

"Well, thank you, sir," the pilot said cheerfully. He got out of his seat holding the ship controls. Ridley came to sit in his seat, and as soon as Ridley grabbed the controls, the pilot let go and walked out of the room. The co-pilot turned to Ridley.

"Why'd you give him a break?" the co-pilot asked. Ridley turned and cocked what would have been an eyebrow if he had eyebrows.

"Are you questioning my authority?" Ridley wondered.

"N-no, sir," the co-pilot stuttered. "I would never do such a thing intentionally, sir."

"Very good," Ridley said calmly. "Now I think it's time you get back to work."

The co-pilot saluted Ridley by pretending to create incisions in its chest, then opening his crustacean claw as wide as possible. This was the way Space Pirates saluted. Ridley returned the salute, and the co-pilot got back to his current work. Ridley turned on the Radio Screen and set the ship's controls to auto-pilot. He quickly entered some precise coordinates for the ship to follow.

On the Radio Screen, Ridley viewed Weavel kneeling at the side of a rock in the middle of the blizzard-y area. Ridley clapped, and got Weavel's attention. Weavel saluted when he saw Ridley on his Radio Visor.

"Sir!" Weavel said, slightly startled.

"Where is Samus and what are you doing?" Ridley demanded.

"Funny thing about that is, I'm watching Samus on my Radio Visor," Weavel replied. "We split up, and she got the more interesting path."

"What are you doing, stalker? Watching her strip?" Ridley joked, but in a serious tone.

"Do you want me to show you her current predicament?" Weavel asked. Ridley nodded. Weavel quickly redirected the signal stream to Samus's Radio Visor. Ridley could see the giant one-eyed beast in front of her. He gasped.

"Holy crap," Ridley said. "Is that a…could it be? Is it a—"

"Frezocul?" Samus asked. She immediately understood that Ridley was checking in on them.

"Why yes, that's the name I was searching for," Ridley responded. "How, though?"

"You never picked up every Ocul you left behind at Settlement Zero," Adam said. "Therefore, it is extremely likely that those adapted well enough have migrated to this area."

"Was there something you needed?" Samus asked Ridley. She ran up to the Frezocul and tested her Plasma Beam on it. The beam simply caused a small red spot to heat up on its leg, with the spot to subsequently disappear after that.

"Technically, no," Ridley said. "I have contacted you to check your progress, and to inform you two that the blizzard had died down enough for us to come by and pick you up."

"Yes!" Adam cheered. "So we can finish our compromised mission and leave?"

Ridley glared. "It is up to Samus, sir," Ridley hissed.

Samus thought about it while dodging a potentially deadly blow from the Frezocul.

"Sure," Samus said.

"Alright then, I suppose we will pick you up whenever we find you," Ridley replied. Weavel sounded relieved.

"Alright, when you reach a fork in paths, turn left. You'll find me a ways down there," he said.

"Alright," Ridley spoke.

"Oh, and also—"

Weavel was cut off. Ridley had terminated the signal. Weavel roared.

"Damn it!" he yelled.

"Don't take it so hard," Samus said sarcastically. "I'm not that boring."

"It's not really you, as much as it is computer man," Weavel spat.

"I beg your pardon?" Adam asked, slightly enraged from Weavel's rudeness.

"Just ignore him, unless he's saying something extremely important," Samus said to Weavel.

"Lady, I will not tolerate cyborg's rude demeanor for much longer," Adam said. Since Weavel didn't make a smart mouthed reply, Samus assumed that Adam spoke privately to her just then. She ignored any further comments, and focused on the Frezocul.

"Now how do I kill this thing?" Samus wondered. She quickly aimed at its eye and shot it with a charged Plasma Beam shot. The Frezocul winced in immense pain, and fell on its side. Samus walked over next to it, and examined it from a slightly safe distance. The Frezocul opened its eye again, and swept the thin ice lake with its leg. Samus quickly ran out of the way with a perfectly timed Speed Boost, and then she saw the monster plant its foot into the ice again. Then she remembered the logbook scan.

"It'll starve when its feet are disconnected from its food!" Samus thought to herself. She began to think of a way to disconnect its four large feet from the frozen lake's surface. With a creature this enormous, it would be nearly impossible to perform such a daunting task. Samus's thinking cost her her balance, as she felt herself sink down the frigid lake underneath the thin ice. Quickly, Samus swam back up to the surface, and climbed back onto the ice. If she continues to get knocked down like this, she probably could not finish this fight.

But sure enough, missiles from the sky flew in at a breathtaking speed and hit the Frezocul directly in its eye. Samus quickly traced the missiles' smoking paths to figure out where it came from. Soon, a giant purple ship flew in above, coming from the missiles' origins. The ship stood taller than at least seventy Frezoculs stacked up on each other on their hind legs. Shortly after the ship set its landing gears on the surrounding walls of ice, a black figure that seemed to be traveling at the speed of a jet rocketed down towards the Frezocul. Samus examined the figure closely, and ran up to get a better view. She switched to Scan Visor and picked up a scan she already got: Ridley. Ridley was on the Frezocul's head, wrestling as if to stun it. Soon, the giant monster stopped fighting Ridley's assault, and Ridley quickly flew over to the kneecap equivalent of a Frezocul on one leg and, with great force and obvious straining due to loud cries in pain, Ridley slowly twisted the Frezocul's leg up to face the sky. After this inhuman feat, Ridley stopped and panted. He pulled out a telecommunicator.

"Alright, assault plan A takes far too much energy," Ridley spoke into the walkie-talkie-like device.

"Well what do you suppose we should do, sir?"

"Switch to plan B!" Ridley yelled angrily, clearly moody from straining his muscles and using an unfavorable amount of energy.

"…Sir, you've never established a plan B," the voice responded.

"Well, make something up!" Ridley shouted. He wiped his forehead, and began to fly down towards Samus.

"You weren't too hard to find," Ridley said to Samus as he approached her. "I just had to search for the abnormal alien creature going out of control."

"Ridley," Adam said. "I'll tell you what. How about we ride in your ship, allowing you to minimally experiment on Samus, and then you simply take us to the nearest neutral civilization?"

Ridley laughed. "Absolutely not," he retorted. "Samus is a Space Pirate now, and thus she must work like one."

After a short pause, a loud wincing could be heard. Samus looked at the Frezocul, and Ridley turned around to follow suit. The Frezocul had its legs tied together with its head segment, rendering it immobile. Within seconds, the Frezocul ended its struggling, and closed its eye.

"And there you have it," Ridley said, clapping his claws. "Dispatch is an improvisational genius!"

Samus walked past Ridley without saying a word. Ridley understood that Samus only talked when either she was asked a question or if she really needed to. Yet still, Ridley was the first to start a conversation.

"Where is Weavel?" Ridley asked Samus. Samus pointed in a specific direction.

"It's only an estimation," Adam reassured Ridley. Ridley sighed.

"I want results," Ridley spat. Adam sighed to Ridley's remark as Ridley did to his.

"Though not one hundred percent accurate, I would say his current location is Latitude 70 and Longitude 37," Adam calculated. Ridley swore. He pulled out a device that resembled a GPS, only with a peculiar foreign design to it. He set up an input of Latitude 70 and Longitude 37, and then typed "Vho" in the "Other Information" box. When results popped up, he pressed a button, and punched in "Recovery Squadron". He then pulled out his telecommunicator.

"Recovery squadron," Ridley spoke with a military-like tone. "Get to these assigned coordinates and retrieve Weavel pronto. I have sent you the coordinates."

Instead of a verbal response, Ridley got a bunch of small ships zipping out of the giant purple one, heading about half a mile over from where Samus was standing to the ruins on the horizon. Ridley looked at his GPS-like device and seemed to be timing the ships. In thirty seconds, the ships flew back in to the ship.

"Well? How did it go?" Ridley asked into the telecommunicator.

"We have successfully retrieved Weavel, sir, and we are ready to leave whenever you are," a buzzy, static-y voice sounded.

"Very good," Ridley said, as he turned off the device. He turned to Samus, smiling. "My my, sir, you sure seem to know how to pinpoint coordinates."

"Quite," Adam gloated. "In fact, I—"

"It's one of your redeeming qualities," Ridley spat, with his eyes narrowing. "Don't get cocky with me, computer man. We still cannot pinpoint whether or not you are trustworthy."

Ridley turned around to walk off. "Pun intended, I assume?" Adam wondered. Ridley turned to face Samus.

"I suppose," Ridley said, in a very assuring tone. Adam spoke to Samus privately.

"What is it with these bastards calling me 'computer man'? I find it very rude and demeaning," Adam said.

"Find a rude yet fitting name to call them back," Samus suggested. "With Space Pirates, that may be your only hope socially."

Samus started to walk behind Ridley as they approached the Stinger flagship to get back to the mother ship.

"Why would I try to get along with these repulsive crustaceans? They are nothing to me," Adam said. Samus treated the question as rhetorical and stepped into the Stinger. Ridley flew back into the mother ship into the Stinger docks, and Samus quickly booted the green-blue, trilobite-shaped ship up to fly. Within a few seconds, she flew into the Stinger docks. "You could have used that opportunity to pull a fast one, somewhat like what you did on your first mission on Zebes!"

"Adam, that was _years_ ago," Samus said. "I can barely fly this thing now."

This was true; Samus was flying the Stinger in an unorthodox fashion, and she managed to enter the docks in that exact same fashion. The Stinger hit the metal floor and bounced upwards about five feet, subsequently skidding across the floor, causing sparks to rocket outward. Shortly after, when the vehicle stopped, the cockpit door popped open with a white hand following it out. The white hand gripped onto the ledge of the cockpit and pulled its main body upward, revealing the white and black Subzero Suit with its ice-blue helmet and pink visor. Samus heard a voice in front of her.

"And although you have probably met before, I introduce to you Space Pirates, Samus Aran!" the voice called. Samus looked up, and saw Ridley standing there with a large squadron of Space Pirates. The Space Pirates raised a claw, and performed the Pirate salute, followed by the formal human salute. Samus saluted with a Space Pirate salute, and then walked up closer.

"So are we ready to take off?" Samus asked.

"Why yes, we are," Ridley replied.

"Mind if we stop back at Settlement Zero for a bit?"

Ridley paused. "What?" he asked confused. "Why would you want to head back to that old facility?"

"I have…I have a few friends there that I made, and I think it's wrong to just leave them there," Samus answered. Weavel stepped up.

"Sir, it's not a trap," Weavel assured. "I was there. You want the truth?"

Weavel looked at Samus. She nodded.

"I am now the queen of the Metroid population back at Settlement Zero, Ridley," Samus said. "I killed their queen back when we stepped into their hive…"

Ridley was shocked. "Should we allow Metroids on this ship?" he asked himself, out loud so the rest of them could hear it. "It would be a great convenience."

"Really?" Samus wondered.

"Yes," Ridley responded. "How many are there?"

"Hundreds, if not thousands," Weavel answered. Ridley cackled in joy.

"Even better!" he called out. "We have enough space for twice that amount!"

"So we'll go there first?" Samus asked. Ridley nodded. He called for a screen communicator to come down and bring the pilot on screen.

"How was your break?" Ridley asked calmly.

"Oh it was great, sir. I—"

"Save it," Ridley barked. "Head back to Settlement Zero, at the entrance to where we discovered the hive."

"Uh, yes sir," the pilot replied. The screen rose back up, and Ridley looked at Samus.

"We're going to send you, because the rest of us would be eaten," he said. Samus nodded.

"But how would I get them in here?" Samus wondered. Ridley cracked a smile.

"Follow me," he said. Ridley led Samus down a network of hallways and corridors, of which each Space Pirate along the way stopped to glance at Samus in a somewhat confused manner. Samus ignored this attention and continued to follow Ridley. They stopped at a large door, which Ridley set up his access to. His access was granted, and the large door slid open. "Welcome to the old containment chamber."

The corridor behind the large doorway was hangar-sized, yet abandoned. A disturbing silence came over Samus as a draft blew in.

"You held Metroids here?" Samus presumed.

"Not only Metroids, Samus. Anything we found to be deadly yet powerful enough to help us," Ridley answered. He beckoned Samus to follow him, and led her down to the large and flat floor. "Tanks were once placed in this room to contain the more dangerous of subjects."

Samus walked over to the even larger doorway at one side of the room. "What is this?"

"An airlock dock," Ridley replied. "We used it to carry cargo in and out. You will be using it to get the Metroids in here."

"How will you seal the Metroids in?" Samus wondered.

"We have security regulations I expect everyone to follow," Ridley said. Suddenly, he changed the subject. "Would you mind if we extract some of the Metroid DNA from these Metroids?"

Suddenly, Samus seemed to grow a bit agitated. "Why?" she asked. "So you can experiment on them and attempt to make them your slaves?"

"Samus, now please. I may have been that selfish in the past, but as of now, we are suffering," Ridley pleaded. "My entire race is at stake here, and Metroid DNA is the answer!"

"The answer to what?" Samus demanded. Adam spoke up.

"Oh my," he said aloud. "Have the Space Pirates, perhaps, been afflicted with the X Parasites?"

"Don't talk crap, Adam," Samus spat. "We eradicated the X."

"But have we?" Adam said. "I suppose you have completely eradicated Phazon too, am I correct? And the Metroids? After your second mission on Zebes upon annihilating that dastardly mechanical brain, you believed the Metroids were gone forever. Now look at this! The Metroids are _not _gone! The last was cloned, even now; there are those that aren't clones that still thrive in this planet nearly exiting the galaxy. So, with this logic, anything you believe is gone for good may very well still exist out there, just simply out of Galactic Federation jurisdiction."

"No, computer man," Ridley argued. "Phazon _is_ gone. We have different squads examining at least seven other galaxies."

"But seven galaxies don't make a universe!" Adam barked. "The universe goes on forever, therefore Phazon, the X, and other things may still exist out there, be it in a neighboring galaxy or two trillion galaxies away!"

"Adam!" Samus interrupted.

"What?" Adam asked, irritated.

"Just shut the hell up, please," Samus said. Adam grew angrier.

"Lady, you are not authorized to speak to your commander that way!" Adam yelled. Ridley broke up the verbal fracas.

"Computer man, or Adam," Ridley said, "First off, you are not Samus's commander anymore. She is not part of the Galactic Federation, and so far, you don't seem to be a part of it either. I would say I am the closest to her commander now, but to avoid enraging her to the point of committing treason, I give her more freedom than many Space Pirate Elites. Second, your nerdy astrology lesson is giving me a headache, so please, as Samus asked you in a manner most appropriate to counter your attitude, shut the hell up."

Adam was silenced. Ridley put everything back on subject. "Now, Samus," he said. "If you won't allow us to extract a Metroid DNA sample from your Metroid pack, please allow us to extract from you. It will be just a small sample that we can replicate. Just, please, Samus. For the good of the Space Pirates, I beg you."

Samus stopped to think about it for a moment. Shortly after, the TV monitor came down.

"We've arrived, sir," the pilot told Ridley. Ridley nodded, and the screen retracted into the ceiling.

"How many of those things do you have in this mother ship?" Samus asked. Ridley pointed to the ceiling. Samus saw a network of suspension cables along with the TV hanging there.

"We have one of those in every room of the ship," Ridley replied. He walked over to open the door, and the large airlock dock opened wide. "Go grab your children."

Samus nodded. As she walked out, she turned to Ridley and said, "I won't let you experiment on them," she told Ridley, "but I have no issue using them as a squadron in your armies."

Ridley rubbed his lower jaw and hmmed, as if intrigued by the idea. As Samus walked out, Ridley closed the hangar door to help keep the cold air out.

--

Samus walked into the entrance to the hive, that which was her exit when Weavel and her passed through the first time and vanquished the Queen Metroid. She stepped into the goopy floor, and saw all of the Metroids on the ground, sleeping. She called out, and soon, the Metroids all woke up. They encircled her in joy, and the Omega Metroids stomped the ground in excitement. She could easily tell that they were giddy their queen returned. Samus spoke to the Metroids.

"Alright, guys," she told the Metroids. "Follow me, but be quick about this."

Samus walked out the door and turned around. She then realized that the doorway outside was too small. An Omega Metroid ran up and bent the edges of the door to enlarge the doorway for the others to pass through. Soon, Samus walked out into the only slightly cold field. She signaled Ridley to open the door and extend a tube for safe transport. A small tube shot out from the mother ship and connected to the rusted, icy walls of Settlement Zero. Samus ran up the tube into the room, and stood in front of Ridley. The entire Metroid population raced in. After they all had entered the hangar-sized room, nearly half the room was full. Metroids attempted to attack Ridley, but stopped when Samus was standing in front of him, as if guarding him.

"As much as I hate you, Ridley," Samus said. "I don't want to be charged for murder."

"Fair enough," Ridley replied. He walked up the stairs and out of the hangar. He turned to Samus. "Oh, and one more thing. In case something horrible happens, this hangar here acts as a detachable escape pod. That way, if, say, we got shot down, you can escape with the Metroids safely."

Samus nodded. Ridley left the room and shut the door behind him. Samus turned to the Metroids. "Are all of you tired?"

The Omega Metroids ran up to Samus and roared in unison. The younger Metroids went to sleep, and the Omegas followed suit.

"I believe the Omega Metroids were bidding you a good night, Samus," Adam suggested. He still had some agitation in his voice. Weavel stepped into the room, and the Metroids ignored his presence since Samus told the Metroids to trust him.

"Yo, Samus," Weavel called down. Samus looked up at Weavel. "I have something I need to give to you."

Weavel led Samus into the Cybernetic Space Pirate training grounds, and walked over to the weapons supply.

"What is this?" Samus wondered.

"I have an arm cannon upgrade for you," Weavel told Samus. "I doubt you've ever had this sort of upgrade before."

Weavel hooked Samus's arm cannon up to a machine with a wire. After pressing a few buttons, Samus felt her suit upgrade; a feeling she had felt many times before. Then, Weavel seemed to receive Plasma Beam data from Samus's arm cannon and calculated some statistics. Shortly after, Samus felt another upgrade.

------------PLASMA SWORD UPGRADE ACQUIRED. SLICE THROUGH ENEMIES WITH INTENSE HEAT. ------------

Samus was puzzled. Soon, a sword akin to Weavel's sword made of orange-brown energy extended out of her arm cannon.

"Melee weapons?" Samus asked, astounded.

"Yup," Weavel responded. "I figured it would give you a better advantage in close range combat whenever the opportunity arises."

"But only for Plasma Beam?" Samus asked.

"Nope," Weavel simply answered. "That first upgrade I gave you allows you to acquire melee weapons for all of your other beams; you just have to find the upgrade itself."

Samus swung around the sword in a fashionable execution. Weavel seemed to be pretty impressed.

"I suppose you don't need any training?" he assumed. Samus shook her head.

"Nah, this seems easy enough," she spoke. Suddenly, the mother ship shook with great force. Soon, a TV screen plopped down.

"Attention all Space Pirates," Ridley yelled through the screen. "We are under attack, repeat, we are under attack! The attackers are a heavy fleet of Galactic Federation airships! I repeat, we are under attack, this is _not_ a drill!"

Samus got on her toes. "Should I get ready to fight?"

Weavel shrugged. "Depends. Can you pilot an assault aircraft?"

"Yes," Samus answered. "But what does that have to do with this?"

"Didn't you hear?" Weavel said. "A bunch of airships are attacking us!"

"Should I just go man a turret or something?" Samus asked.

"Hey, it's your choice," Weavel said calmly. He lied back on a machine. "I don't see the point in it, though. These sort of attacks happen more often than not, and we always turn out alright in the end."

Samus took off after Ridley's control room. As expected, Ridley was there, busy with keeping things under control.

"Can I help at all?" Samus asked. Ridley turned to Samus, and spoke as though he was in a hurry.

"You want to attack the Galactic Federation?" Ridley asked. Samus nodded.

"Duh, that's why I'm a Space Pirate," Samus said. Ridley nodded, beginning to remember every little detail about that.

"Well then," he said. "Er, this is huge, Samus."

"How huge?" she asked.

"The Federation is actually tearing us apart this time, Samus," Ridley said sadly. "I'm about to order an evacuation."

"How many ships are there?"

"One, but it is heavy duty and all new. It doesn't seem to destroy as easily as the last ones they have used," Ridley responded. Samus seemed to gain an idea.

"So it's indestructible?" she asked.

"To our weapons, at least," Ridley said. "It's no use, Samus, we are going to fall. This isn't the end of the Pirates, but this mother ship will be ruined."

"I have a plan," Samus said. "But you're going to have to let me on their ship."

"Are you mad?!" Ridley shouted. "They will kill you!"

"Maybe," Samus said. "But I know a Federation gunship better than any Space Pirate."

Ridley seemed to understand what Samus was getting at. "Fair enough," Ridley spoke. "But how will you get on?"

"Adam," Samus said.

"What?" he barked.

"What we need you to do is help us out," Samus told Adam.

"For you or for the Space Pirates?" Adam demanded. Samus quickly answered.

"For me," Samus replied. Adam agreed.

"Good," Samus said. She turned to Ridley. "What we are going to do is communicate with the gunship. Adam will convince the Federation that you have prisoners of war violently contained here, making the Federation create a bridge between their ship and our ship. The Federation troops will make their way in here, and the Space Pirates will kill them. I will sneak onto the Federation's ship and weave my way into the ship's maintenance sector. I will then sabotage the ship and rig it to crash into the ground, destroying it. This would buy time for us and end their ship."

"Brilliant!" Ridley shouted. "But one flaw: how would you return? The ship crashing would not give you enough time to make it back. May I rather suggest a time bomb?"

"That would be nice," Samus said. Ridley opened a hidden compartment, retrieved a small device, and handed it to Samus.

"Don't allow its size to fool you," Ridley said. "This tiny bomb can destroy anything up to a hundred mile's radius."

"Wouldn't that destroy our ship as well?" Samus asked.

"No," Ridley replied. "You can set the time bomb to a certain blast radius as well as the time it takes to explode."

"Very nice," Samus said. Adam sighed and would've shaken his head to Samus's reaction to such a device if he had a head. Samus was calling a weapon that would be classified terroristic "very nice". But Adam said nothing.

"Well alright then," Ridley broke the silence. "Let us start this mission, and hope for the best."


	11. Assault

**Chapter Eleven: Assault**

Samus put Adam on the communicator in the control deck of the Space Pirate Mother ship. The communication signal was sent through to the Galactic Federation, and they accepted the signal. A Galactic Federation general popped up on screen.

"We don't negotiate with terrorists," the commander spat angrily, pointing at the screen. Ridley stepped up to the communicator and became visible.

"First of all, we are not terrorists. We do not strive to instill terror in civilians," Ridley spoke back. "Second, even if we were terrorists, would you negotiate if we had an entire squadron of your organization held captive by our finest guards?"

"I don't believe you," the commander barked.

"Fine, then," Ridley said. He whispered something quickly to Samus, but he was obviously saying it to Adam. Adam whispered back, seemingly in agreement. "Guards, torture our guests!"

The commander could see in the background a rather large and heavily armored Space Pirate whacking something in a dark corner. The commander then could hear cries of pain.

"Please…" the crying human winced. "I beg you…end this torture!"

"Do you not hear the pain he is in, you stupid commander?" Ridley taunted. Ridley turned his head to the right to face the off-screen Samus and winked with his right eye so the commander could not see it. The commander did not know it, but it was not a real person the guard was torturing; it was a punching bag that looked like a human in which Space Pirates used for melee combat training. All this time, the voice was a recorded plead from a real Federation soldier in a real battle that took place between the Galactic Feds and the Space Pirates. It was one of Adam's men who was killed in action, but he could use the recording since it was in his memories.

"Whoever is listening…if you have any heart, please…save us!" the voice cried. Adam cut it off before the recording continued, where he would say "Quiet. Calling for help won't help anyone." If he continued, the Federation may have recognized his voice and would be able to tell that the Space Pirates were playing them. The commander glared at Ridley, whom was simply grinning in a very sinister manner while staring back. The commander shut the signal down. Ridley turned to Samus.

"You know to wait for the fleet to enter entirely, correct?" he reviewed.

"Yeah," Samus assured. She walked out of the room to head towards the wall that the Federation would break through. While she was at it, Samus quickly entered the hangar with her Metroid 'children', whom were still asleep. She quietly woke two Omega Metroids and tried to communicate that she needed their help with a vital operation. With knowledge that their brothers were fast asleep, the Omega Metroids nodded rather than blaring their usual deafening roar. Samus led them into the halls of the mother ship, and told them to hide until they saw blue-armored troops. At first the Metroids seemed to look confused, but they understood. Samus also told them not to attack Space Pirates. They listened to that as well. She finally ordered the Metroids to attack whenever they saw the Federation troops. And again, they agreed.

In the stronger fleet ship, the commander turned to his top-ranked soldiers.

"Alright, maggots, listen up," the commander shot. "We have ourselves a rescue mission. That Space Pirate Mother ship has one of our squadrons on board as prisoners. We are going to bust a hole in the side of their ship and connect a tube so you all can pass through."

The commander looked down for a second, then said, "Make sure to bring them back, you hear? And if you get the chance…destroy their mother ship."

The troops saluted, and took off. Demolition Squad troopers plopped the hangar door down, and a passageway tube shot out and hooked onto the mother ship. The troopers ran down the tube and quickly placed the bombs in precise locations. After a few seconds, a large chunk of metal blew inward into the mother ship. Then, the Combat troops quickly moved in. They paused when they were inside the mother ship and took a look around. When the squad leader assumed where the prisoners were, he spat, "Let's haul ass."

The troops took off directly where Ridley wanted them to go. The squad was no more than thirty troops, and given the large size of the fleet ship, that meant that those were definitely not all of them. Samus stared directly at the hole to make sure no one else was coming, and she quickly ran through the tube, being sure it was safe. At the other end of the tube waited a pair of Galactic Federation guards. She extended her newly-obtained Plasma Sword and swung at one of the Federation guards, swiping its neck. The guard fell to its knees with its hand clasped around its neck, followed by the troop falling over. The other guard sprung into action by hitting Samus upside the head. Samus recoiled, but quickly reacted with a quick jab into the Federation's head. Samus walked carefully down a hallway with her Acid Beam ready to corrode any Federation troop. She found a sign pointing toward the electronic operations deck, and followed it. Before a security camera found her, Samus dropped an EMP bomb that was set to 'Security Override'. As such, she could only be spotted directly by wandering troopers. She followed the next sign pointing toward the electronic operations deck, and stopped at a door with that name at its side. She quickly shot the energy-powered door open, and immediately shifted back into battle-ready pose. A Federation engineer walked up to Samus.

"You can't be in here!" the engineer said. He then shifted his glasses. "Oh crap, it's you!"

Samus walked toward the engineer threateningly with her Acid Beam charged. The Acid Beam would hurt terribly on an engineer, as they were not equipped with armor, rather, a mere jumpsuit. As soon as Samus spotted the engineer reaching for the alarm button, she fired the charged Acid Beam shot at the engineer's arm. Samus closed her eyes and looked away as the engineer cried in pain as his arm ever so slowly was eaten away. Samus quickly but quietly put the engineer out of his misery by stabbing him in the neck with the Plasma Sword. Samus then quickly stopped at the wires that were next to her as she fought off the engineer. She quickly and cleverly placed the bomb in the wires, and armed the bomb to detonate in one and a half minutes. As Samus stepped out of the room, she quickly morphed into ball form and laid a Power Bomb, which she subsequently moved to the side afterward. Large pieces of the metal ceiling fell and blocked the door off. After that, Samus took a mad dash for the tube, turning down corners as needed. She didn't even stop running when a few troops spotted her and commanded her to halt. After she ran down the tube and back into the Space Pirate Mother ship, Samus quickly cut anything that connected the tube to the hole in the mother ship. The fleet ship detached from the mother ship, and Samus quickly braced herself for a big shake. A few seconds later, a large explosion forced the mother ship to rock in mid-air, as a large, fiery blast shot through the hole bore into the mother ship. When the blast subsided, Samus waited for a second. She then looked around the corner. To her expectations, she saw a giant cloud of smoke drowning the fleet ship that nearly destroyed the mother ship. Samus switched to the Radio Visor and contacted Ridley.

"I can easily see your objective is completed," Ridley said, sounding slightly impressed.

"What about the troops here? Are they gone?" Samus asked, panting.

"Our guards and your Metroids literally tore them all to shreds," Ridley said in a very joyful manner. Samus sighed in relief.

"I still found the goal of that mission to be very wrong," Adam spoke for the first time in what seemed like forever. Ridley grinned.

"Well, that's something you will have to get used to, computer man," Ridley forgot that the 'computer man' preferred the name 'Adam'. Or did he?

"There is one shred of bad news, however," Ridley said in a more serious tone. "We're about to crash land."

Samus immediately sprung up. "What?!" she asked.

"The mother ship sustained far too much damage for it to stay airborne," Ridley told Samus. "But we have enough time to escape. All of us."

"The hangar that the Metroids are resting in—"

"Is detachable as a life ship, yes. Do not worry, Samus. We have everything under control," Ridley assured.

Shortly after, Samus felt a sharp pain course throughout her body, and she fell over. Second by second, she could feel herself grow more and more unconscious…

Samus woke. She felt numb in her head, and she looked around. She was surrounded by sleeping Omega Metroids, literally forming some sort of formation around her, as if protecting her. Just then, a voice over the intercom sounded.

"Are you alright, Samus?" the voice asked. Samus, still feeling a bit woozy, could tell that Ridley was speaking. She stood up, and spoke back.

"What happened?" she wondered, with her palm to her visor.

"I injected you with a sedative. This would allow you to avoid any pain the crash may cause," Ridley responded. "And don't worry; the sedative was entirely non-experimental."

"What about the Metroids?" Samus asked Ridley.

"We filled the room with an airborne sedative, so they did fine as well. As you can see, none have died, nor were any injured," Ridley said. "I promise, Samus, everything is fine."

"Where are we?" Samus asked. She had so many questions to ask.

"All I can tell you is that we are in the middle of that treacherous wasteland you traveled through just ten hours ago," Ridley replied. "As for specific coordinates, I do not know. The coordinator calculator went with the main body of the mother ship."

"You are incorrect, Ridley," Adam said aloud. "This is not the Frostbitten Wasteland; this is the aptly named Aurora Heights."

"Ah, sir Malkovich knows where we are. Brilliant," Ridley said, in an entirely non-sarcastic manner.

"What kind of environment am I going to face?" Samus asked. She didn't even have to wait for objectives to ask that question, because the Space Pirates truly know what she is good at.

"Apparently, Aurora Heights is a variety of different environments. It all remains at the freezing cold temperature with the icy weather, but it is…very diverse. Where we are now seems to be in the middle of a network of caverns within the mountains," Adam explained. "This ship must have crashed into the ice and fell through, and here we are."

"Crap," Samus said. "How the hell am I going to get these Metroids out safe?"

"Simple," Ridley explained. "We have more than one mother ship, Samus. I have already sent for one to extract the cargo that cannot be moved. Namely, this cargo ship."

"You have more than one mother ship…?" Adam asked rhetorically. "Your empire must be larger than the Federation originally perceived it to be."

"Damn straight, computer man," Ridley said. "You forget, we've had centuries to expand and grow."

"And you've been the leader for all those years?"

"Indeed, I have," Ridley said. "I do not die very easily, as you should have figured out by now."

"So…" Samus interrupted. "What should be my first objective?"

"Good question," Ridley said. "Why don't you investigate? Search for civilization. Hell, you can try to radio in areas where you have a signal."

"Civilization? In these caves?"

"It's entirely possible," Ridley told Samus. "But if there is not one, these caves end somewhere, am I correct?"

"I suppose…"

"And the back-up mother ship is on its way to retrieve this cargo. I already have instructed my men to avoid opening the cargo," Ridley spoke.

"One more question," Samus said. "Where are you?"

There was a short pause. "Me?" Ridley asked. "Let's just say I'm already searching."

--

Ridley was flying about thirty feet above the surface, with his troop of men trying to keep up.

"Sir?" a commander asked. "Could you please slow down and let us catch up?"

Ridley halted, landed, and turned to look at the commander with his evil orange-yellow eyes.

"Nope," Ridley spat casually. "Think of this as…the most effective training you've endured."

After a brief moan from Ridley's troop, Ridley took off again. The commander told his men to persevere. Suddenly, Ridley halted and landed again. The Space Pirates behind him finally caught up, panting heavily. After a short pause, the commander noticed Ridley was not moving.

"Sir, are you alright?" he asked.

"Shushushushushushhh," Ridley silenced the commander. He then pointed ahead of himself. With no blizzard carrying on at the moment, things could be seen clearly. The commander saw it: a blue figure with a humanoid posture, walking casually in the snow. The figure was too far away to see the Pirates at the moment, but Ridley turned to the troops. "I am going to speak to it. As for you all, hide in the snow."

With that remark, the Space Pirates dove into the snow and tried to cover themselves up. Since they were injected with the Subzero Serum, the cold did not bother them at all. Ridley got down onto all fours, akin to how he casually stood as Omega Ridley back in the time which the Space Pirates mined Phazon. He slowly walked toward the figure. After about twenty seconds of mutually approaching one another, the blue figure jumped and shot a slightly purple beam. The beam hit Ridley directly, but had no effect since Ridley was injected with the Subzero Serum as well. A small shard of ice formed on Ridley's head, but shattered shortly after. Ridley then took off like a rocket in the blue figure's direction. He hit the blue figure full force, and landed with the creature under his claws as Ridley held him down.

"Well hello there," Ridley said in a sinister tone. "Don't you look oddly familiar? Pity, your name continues to escape me."

"Damn you, Pirate," the figure spoke angrily.

"No need to be rude, now, I just want to talk," Ridley said.

"I will tell you _nothing_," the figure spat.

"You don't even know what I was going to ask about," Ridley said in a sarcastically sad manner.

"Fine, then," the creature said. "What do you want?"

"Wonderful weather we're having, isn't it?" Ridley asked. The figure spat in Ridley's face. "Well, how rude. I just wanted to start a friendly conversation."

"Such an adjective as 'friendly' does not exist in your vocabulary," the creature said. "Nor does it exist in any Space Pirate's."

"If that will be your mindset…" Ridley said, "Then I shall follow your stereotype that you plague me with."

With that, Ridley slashed at the blue figure's face, creating large scars oozing blue blood. After slashing a few times, Ridley asked the figure a last question.

"Any last words?" he asked.

"Go to hell, and stay there."

Ridley gripped around the creature's head, and, with force, ripped it clean off the figure's body. Ridley threw the now-disembodied head aside, and looked at the decapitated body. The remaining stub where the creature's head was did not squirt blood like a human's would have, but rather, blue-purple blood slowly oozed out. Ridley hmphed.

"Not nearly as entertaining when the blood isn't crimson," Ridley noted, and stepped off the creature's body. He turned, and flew back to where his troops were. "Boys! Get up, and let's get moving!"

The Space Pirates rose out of the snow directly in front of Ridley, and shook the snow off their bodies.

"What did the mysterious figure tell you?" the commander wondered.

"Nothing," Ridley said, sounding slightly disappointed. "Nothing relevant, that is. So I just sent him on his way."

"That isn't like you, sir," the commander pointed out. "Normally you would've killed it, wouldn't you?"

Ridley slightly narrowed his eyes. "You are absolutely correct," he said very seriously, despite being facetious. "I should've been more brutal."

The troops started to walk some more, until large thumps approached them. The troops turned around, and Ridley followed suit. Eventually, over the horizon, a large, pudgy green lizard with three red eyes came closer. Ridley sighed. When the lizard was within earshot, Ridley commented on its arrival.

"What in hell's name are you doing here, Kraid?" Ridley asked.

"Sitting still can get boring, and now I can do something about it," Kraid said with his booming voice. Once Ridley realized something, he jumped.

"Bloody hell! Did you kill the insects as I instructed you to do so?" Ridley asked.

"Sure did. Damn, I'm going to miss those little guys," Kraid said in an authentically depressed tone. Kraid then noticed the decapitated body not too far away. Since he was bigger, he could see it better than the smaller troops. "Hey, what happened there?"

Kraid pointed to the dead body. The troops followed where his finger was pointing with their eyes and saw the dead body as well, in which they subsequently switched their sights to gaze at Ridley.

"You told us you sent him on his way and that you should have been more brutal," the commander said. Ridley turned to glare at the commander.

"I did send him on his way…to the afterlife. I was being facetious, you idiot!"

"Well how could we tell?" the commander asked.

"By paying attention?" Ridley suggested sharply. Kraid broke up the loud conversation by clearing his throat, which was loud enough to cause a ringing in the troops' ears. Ridley turned to look at Kraid, and then turned to look at the supposed direction he was going to lead the troops. "Right, let's move."

--

Samus navigated the caverns ahead of herself. She had already instructed her Metroid "children" to stay behind for safety. When she entered the cavern, the first thing she noticed was a flowing river. She went to examine it closer.

"Adam, how could a river exist on this planet?" Samus asked.

"The temperature dropped significantly since you have entered the cavern. As of now, it is only at 42 degrees Fahrenheit," Adam replied.

"How?"

"It is possible that there is some sort of natural air lock that separates the outside climate from the inside climate. It is just…a drop in temperature that large seems scientifically impossible in such a small space for the temperature shift to take place," Adam explained. Samus stuck her face into the water, viewing the depth of it. Despite that it was dark, she could tell that the river's depth extended to about twenty feet down, and Samus could see that it got wider. She jumped in to investigate. As Samus floated down, she saw that where the river got wider, it led into another natural corridor. Based on her exploration instincts, she traveled down that path. The following room was large and round, and full of what seemed to be plant life. Samus was puzzled by the sight of this life, as being present here, it would be called an anomaly.

"Adam…plants? How could they live here?" Samus asked.

"The drop in temperature, of course," Adam replied. "It is no longer too cold for a plant to survive here. At least, not where you're standing. But without the plants, there would be no oxygen in the atmosphere, would there?"

"I thought the Vhozons breathed something else…then again, couldn't oxygen rise from the melting of the ice and snow?" Samus wondered. Adam let out a small giggle.

"Silly Lady, how could the ice and snow out there melt?" Adam pointed out. Samus didn't respond. Adam readjusted the subject to the objective at hand. "Lady, what are you going to do next? Perhaps you could follow…the northern path?"

The area surrounding Samus was a round room crafted from dirty ice. As explained, she was underneath an in-cave river. She was now surrounded by four separate paths. Her first instinct was to head for the one blockaded by Vhozon Crystals.

"Ah yes, very good! This looks like something that could lead you to some sort of expansion!" Adam exclaimed.

"Adam…how could an expansion be found here?"

"You found them on this planet before, haven't you? What about the other planets you've visited during other missions?" Adam wondered.

"Yeah, but all the expansions I found here were in Settlement Zero. That would mean the Space Pirates likely ripped off the Chozo models of the expansions and had a few there for experiments. Zebes and Tallon IV had expansions because both were major Chozo settlements; same goes for SR388. The B.S.L. Station had them because the Galactic Federation did what the Space Pirates did; rip off the Chozo model. Aether had them because the Luminoth likely received them from the Chozo as gifts, or items to help with the Ing war. Bryyo was allied with the Chozo, Elysia was a Chozo settlement, and the Pirate Homeworld had them for the same reason Settlement Zero did. The Alimbics were allied with the Chozo as well, so that crosses them out of your list. Trust me, Adam, expansions don't pop up for no reason," Samus explained.

"So you are implying that the Chozo are not allies with the Vhozons?" Adam pointed out.

"Likely not, because Ridley explained that they were with the Federation," Samus answered.

"Really, now? They do not show up anywhere in my databanks as allies with the Federation," Adam said.

"Well, either you were cut off from the Federation's databanks, or…"

"Or your lizard friend provided you with a subtle fabrication, Samus," Adam interrupted.

"Yes, or that. But Adam, Ridley is not my friend. I just…I just have to tolerate him," Samus said.

"Right, you should definitely trust the same asshole who _intentionally_ murdered your mother, shouldn't you?"

"He did kill my mother, no doubt about that. But all I do know is that I can trust him. Sure, he is an asshole. Sure, he is an outright douche bag, but he never lied to me before…" Samus said.

"But what if he is lying to you now, Samus? Have you ever considered that? What if he planned this whole scheme out this whole time to bait you into your utter demise so he could finally accomplish something larger, something much more dangerous?" Adam suggested.

"I'm not saying he isn't! I'm saying if he was to kill me, he would have done it already!" Samus replied assertively.

"Knowing Ridley like the mastermind he is, he doesn't have to kill you by now. He could easily trick you with his rarely exploited gentleman charm, only to end up killing you. Your safety is vital, Samus! Never put your life at risk! You saved the galaxy hundreds of times before; you need to do it again, here!" Adam yelled back. Samus calmed down.

"Well," she started, "Then I'm going to save this galaxy. I will thwart the Galactic Federation for the subtle evil they've caused. I won't back down…but I can't do it alone. And when my once only ally _is _my enemy this time around…I need to form a new alliance. With an organization I never thought I would join. Adam Malkovich, I trust you. But I trust Ridley as well. And I've had enough of your rantings about my choices. You are not my boss; you never were. I could have dropped out of your training program whenever I wished. It would have screwed me over by now, but I could have. I could have gone to the Space Pirates first had they not forced me to have a grudge against them. But now, that grudge is useless. I need to do what's best for this galaxy. And if you don't agree with my choices, I suggest you go to hell," Samus explained. Adam remained silent for a short pause.

"Lady, I…" Adam started, but didn't finish. Samus continued walking through the underwater in the mysterious ice cavern, hoping she could find a way out.

--

Ridley turned off the communicator. "She does trust us," he said. He had been eavesdropping on her conversation with Adam.

"But what about the computer man, sir? How could we rid of him? I think killing Samus is out of the question," the commander replied. "The computer man will easily prove to be a nuisance, if he has not already."

"I know about how Mr. Malkovich could ruin our plans, underling," Ridley said. "But that's why I have ordered for a solution to this problem…"

"Will it shut the asshole up?" Kraid wondered. Ridley turned to Kraid and looked up into his three eyes.

"No…but after the solution is administered, shutting the computer man up will not be necessary."

--

Trace ran into the Frostbitten Wasteland. He was not affected by the cold due to enduring vigorous training back on his home planet. He ran across the snow, and slipped as soon as he stepped on ice.

"Gah! Damn it!" Trace called. He hit his rain-drop shaped head on the thick ice, and fell over with blurred vision. He felt himself growing unconscious fast. But it wasn't long until he felt a needle stick into his shoulder blade. He felt a hand pick him up by his claw. He stood up, with his vision evening back out. Once he saw his savior, he slashed the figure with his claw. A direct hit sent the man to the ground, sliding. Soon enough, a large group of men with the same armor locked and loaded their guns, and pointed at Trace. Trace roared, attempting to intimidate the people. But the commotion was soon interrupted.

"Stop," the figure who Trace slapped onto the ground said. The men surrounding Trace lowered their weapons. The man stood back up and brushed himself off. "Clearly, he is not aware yet."

"Aware of what? That you will inevitably take me to your damned intergalactic prison keep?" Trace spat. "I do not like your kind, you bastardly G-Feds."

The Galactic Federation commander walked up to Trace and held out his hand.

"Please, sir," the commander offered. "Accept our hospitality."

"That depends," Trace said. "Do you hold Sylux on your ship?"

"No, sir. Sylux escaped our grasp a few days ago," the G-Fed commander spoke.

"Then I do not have any business with you," Trace barked.

"Look, sir," the commander started to sound assertive. "We have an order from Emperor Gyrion that you must come with us to help."

"Gyrion sent you?" Trace sounded puzzled. "I don't believe you."

Suddenly, Trace's telecommunicator opened a transmission.

"You had better believe it, Trace," the booming voice on the other end spoke. "The G-Feds are with us now. You will obey them, or you will die by the Krikis's teeth!"

"Since when?"

"Since a few hours ago," Emperor Gyrion spat. "G-Fed Chairman Vogl and I have reached an agreement. If we help the Galactic Federation destroy Samus and her confirmed new Space Pirate cohorts, they will take us off their most wanted list and free us of any crime charge. I would be a fool to refuse the deal."

"Are you all fucking insane?" Trace barked. "Taking down Samus? The Space Pirates have a stronger military force than the G-Feds, and she can take down their entire army within twenty-four hours! We will never fulfill the deal---the G-Feds have set you up, O Hiera."

"Quiet, Trace!" Emperor Gyrion asserted. "We did not ask for your smart-assed input. We are commanding you to listen to orders. Like I have said, if you do not obey, you will be the Krikis's next meal! Understand?"

Trace subtly pouted, then roared in anger. "Fine, O Hiera," Trace said. "But understand that I do not like this in the least."

"We expected you wouldn't," Emperor Gyrion said. "But to be wholeheartedly honest, we don't give a damn. Now be quiet, suck it up, and follow this lovely troop of G-Fed soldiers. No more questions!"

The transmission ended. Trace roared in anger again, and looked at the commander. "I don't approve of my Emperor's move, human."

"I know," the commander responded. "But that Krikis sounds like it is one nasty creature."

Trace growled. He and the troop continued off in one direction in the wasteland. _It's going to be a long alliance_, Trace thought.

**Author's Note****: **"O Hiera" is basically a Kriken's traditional way of referring to a higher up in their government, particularly directed at the current Emperor.

Also to note, Trace said the 'f' word. Sorry about this for people who wanted this obscene swearing to stop, but I have two more times I can slip in the 'f' word. After that, I would have to change the fanfic's rating to 'R' for "some language", and I do not want to do that.

Also, thanks to Zyborggian for the Aurora Heights idea.


	12. Aurora Heights

**Chapter Twelve: Aurora Heights**

Ridley, Kraid, and the troop of Space Pirates continued to trudge through the snow on the mountains of Aurora Heights. Ridley was silently pondering different matters of concern to himself, Kraid was trying to play "I Spy" with himself, and the troops were singing an annoying tune. It was obvious that boredom has got the best of them.

"Sir, I have a question," a troop asked Ridley.

"What?" Ridley immediately replied, sounding dreadfully irritated from being interrupted from his train of deep thought.

"Did you, by chance, acquaint with that blue figure back there?" the troop wondered. Ridley sighed in what sounded more like an annoyed roar, and started to talk to himself quietly as he racked his brains for any memories of the figure he had recently decapitated.

"No, I did not. But I do know that he was famous, and that his name starts with an 'n'," Ridley replied.

"Noxus?" Kraid suggested. Ridley sounded mildly impressed.

"Yes! That was his name. Gah, I'm already losing my memory. Explain Noxus's back-story to these poorly-informed soldiers, Kraid," Ridley commanded.

"Weeeeeeeell…." Kraid started. "You see, Noxus was a Vhozon bounty hunter who, much like our newly-acquainted bounty hunting friend, only aimed for the greater good. He rivaled against Samus and Weavel and plenty of other bounty hunters back in the famous Alimbic Expedition only about fifteen years ago. Noxus specialized in utilizing ice-based weapons, the most well-known being the Judicator. Noxus was also known to fold into an alternate form that could swing a hefty scythe out to cut his foes apart. Noxus was one of the only bounty hunters whom wanted the Ultimate Power for good reasons…too bad the rest of his race is corrupt."

"Damn, sir Kraid. For someone who just sits around so much---no offense---you really seem to get around," the troop who originally started the conversation said. Kraid grinned.

"Are you crazy? The Alimbic Expedition was history being made, and it was one of my favorite historical events," Kraid replied.

"Too bad this 'Alimbic Expedition' turned out to end quite horribly…and do I even need to bring up that it wouldn't help us much to begin with?" Ridley remarked.

"Silly Ridley, the Ultimate Power would have been our delicious ticket to destroying our enemies had it been more than a selfish cry for help. And…"

"Kraid, just shut up. Please, shut up," Ridley interrupted. "Honestly, you are so into history that it makes you talk more than I would like you to."

"What's wrong with me talking? Do I sound funny or something?" Kraid asked.

"No…let's just say you sometimes don't seem to know how to be quiet," Ridley answered.

"Bullshit," Kraid retorted. "You don't know---"

"I would shut your trap if I were you. All you're doing now is further proving my point," Ridley said in a very serious tone. Kraid grew quiet. Soon enough, the group of Space Pirates stopped at a ledge overlooking a cliff that stood an unfathomable depth. Across the chasm that stood before them, they could see multiple cylinder-shaped structures made of ice popping up. Kraid soon jumped.

"Ooh! I remember this place now!" he shouted. Ridley turned at Kraid and narrowed both eyes, one eye slightly more than the other.

"You've been here?" Ridley asked, not convinced by Kraid's sudden revelation.

"Not physically," Kraid said. "But I saw this place all across the Internet when I was looking up Vhozon culture."

"This is a cultural landmark?" Ridley wondered. "Continue."

"Well, Vhozon warriors prove their capabilities as a warrior by venturing off from the infrastructure, then meditating carefully on these cylinders. If they fall off the cylinders, then, according to their religion, their god is saying that the Vhozon was not ready to become a warrior. When training is completed, warriors often return to the towers of ice to meditate on top of them. I have also read somewhere that Noxus mastered the art of tower meditation, and was considered a warlord in the eyes of a Vhozon Pope---"

"Shut up!" Ridley stopped Kraid. Kraid huffed. Ridley sighed, and facepalmed. "Look, Kraid, all you had to say was that warriors meditate here. Hell, even then, you could have denied answering the question, because I simply asked out of curiosity."

"Well why do you have to be such a douche about it?" Kraid barked. Ridley told Kraid to suck it up. He then turned and looked at the cylinders.

"Crap," Ridley said. He turned to Kraid again. "You will have to wait for extraction to progress, Kraid. Unless you feel like walking a few hundred or thousand miles to get around this chasm."

"Oh, now you're calling me obese?" Kraid asked. Ridley looked deep into Kraid's eyes, and clearly saw that Kraid was, in fact, trolling. Kraid always enjoyed picking on Ridley in bizarre ways. This situation was no exception.

"Quit whining, troll," Ridley spat. With that, Kraid shut up---and stayed shut up, too. Kraid sat down and made the glacier underneath the group tremble. Ridley turned to the troop.

"Can you troops handle this minefield?" Ridley asked to be sure. The troops didn't respond, thinking about the question. With some thought, the commander stepped up and shook his head.

"To be safe, sir, no," the commander replied. Ridley spat.

"To be safe? What the hell do you mean by that? Why do you think I never hired you, or you, or you, or even you to be our primary bounty hunter? Because Weavel does not care if anything is safe or not; not even Samus does! What we are enduring here is the kind of bullshit Samus deals with nearly every day. Survival, instinct. The ability to pull through anything! What kind of army am I raising here? A first-class elite group of ultimate soldiers? Hardly. You're all just a bunch of pussies, that's what you all are. I cannot believe I recruited this troop to follow me," Ridley barked. The troops were quiet, but the commander surprisingly retorted.

"Damn it, sir, we are not Samus Aran! We're just a bunch of well-trained crustaceans. Forcing us to cross this chasm is murder! You will lose an entire troop!" the commander retorted. Ridley narrowed his eyes, looking extremely surprised. Ridley got onto all fours and slowly crawled toward the commander as he spoke.

"Do you really think our entire empire would just fall apart from me losing a damned troop?" Ridley spoke in a quiet but sinister tone. "We have lost hundreds of troops and squadrons all throughout our empire's history, even all in a similar time frame. Even then, our empire never even came close to collapsing!"

As Ridley approached the commander slowly, the armored bipedal crustacean cowered and took steps back. Ridley had a sinister glare in his eye, with a hint of fury. In the Space Pirates, going against the leader---Ridley---if you were lower than the class "Hierarch" was considered a "lethal violation". Ridley was a mastermind. He knew what he was doing. The commander had no say in the future of the Space Pirates. Unfortunately for the commander, a terrible exhaustion he had never endured before took the best of him.

Ridley was now face to face with the commander. He spoke in a very calmed and quiet tone, while sounding very unforgiving all at once. "Do you have the balls to raise your voice to me again?" he whispered. The commander shook his head. "I am willing to spare you this once, commander. But if you allow a weak force such as exhaustion to take control of your common sense in the future, your jugular artery will find a link missing. Understood?"

The commander nodded. Quickly, Ridley pulled his face away from the commanders'. "Alright then," Ridley said. "You can sit here to wait for extraction, while in the meantime you get to hear Kraid bitch and whine about how much of an ass I am."

On that remark, the troops of Space Pirates were already hopping off to the towers of ice. Ridley grinned.

"The hell is this?" Kraid whined. Ridley flew over the chasm with ease, and landed on the other side. He looked back at the troop. To his dismay, there were only three Space Pirates left in the troop. And the commander was gone. They had already fallen off the towers. Ridley turned around and walked off, as the final three slipped off the ice.

--

Samus climbed out of the river in an entirely different location than she was in before. Samus stepped out of the cave, as an exit stood before her. In front of her were ice pillars sticking to the ground. She looked up, and pondered how tall the pillars were. She then noticed dead bodies on the ground. Based on the colors and appearance, she could tell they were Space Pirates. But their chests were ripped open. Thankfully, there was no blood, as it was all dried up. But Samus wondered just why their bodies were torn open. Samus soon heard a mysterious growl. She searched for the source.

Suddenly, a blue armored lizard popped out from behind a pillar. It roared, and three other blue armored lizards jumped out. They all looked at Samus with an evil stare, and roared in unison. The roar echoed all the way through the cave she believed she was still in. Samus quickly scanned the creatures.

_"A new__** [Creatures]**__ entry has been added to your logbook. Herpetology: __**Helmraptor**__. Helmraptors are vicious, highly intelligent, territorial monsters which are dangerous when alone, and deadly when in a pack. Despite being reptiles, they have a velociraptor-esque posture and build, and they are easily amazingly endothermic. Helmraptors attack very much in the same fashion as velociraptors, with claws and such, and they sport a thieving mentality. The armor Helmraptors are almost always found wearing is stolen from the __**Vhozons**__, particularly from ancient armories found in the __**Vhozon Ruins**__. __**Bitter cold**__ has absolutely no effect on the Helmraptors, but __**extreme heat**__ proves useful. It is a better idea to fight the Helmraptors in close combat, as otherwise you will find that they will dodge most shots taken."_

Samus was surprised to find a reptile native to Vho. Then again, Metroids could be called reptiles, so Ice Metroids would be her first reptile found native on this planet. Adam spoke up.

"So, based on the given information, you should engage in melee combat with them. So you should use…ah, forget it. I'm almost certain you know yourself," Adam said. Samus extended her Plasma Sword. The Helmraptors continued to growl. She slowly but carefully walked toward the four beasts. Soon enough, one of the Helmraptors took Samus on. It lunged at her, slashing at her suit. Samus accumulated major damage, and recoiled from the pain. Quickly, she swung her Plasma Sword and created a large, gaping cut in the Helmraptor's side. The Helmraptor's deep, pitch black eyes seemed to widen, and it fell over. Samus walked over and put the lizard out of its misery. With that, the remaining three pounced Samus at once, and started to tear and shred at Samus's Subzero Suit. Samus fell over as she felt the pain, and quickly jabbed one of the lizards through the skull. The lizard stopped slashing, and fell over. She stabbed a second lizard into the belly, and threw it aside. She then cut the final Helmraptor's head off. The second lizard that which she stabbed in the gut was still alive, but dying. Samus walked over, and shot the lizard in the leg with the Acid Beam. She then touched the area with the acid, and felt her energy replenish. That ambush seriously almost injured her to the point of no return.

"Well they seem quite simple to kill," Adam pointed out the obvious.

"Yeah," Samus replied. "And if I found them here, I'm probably close to reaching the Vhozon Ruins."

"Possibly," Adam said. "But this icy plain could be the equivalent to a desert for a velociraptor. Velociraptors were well known on Earth during the late Cretaceous period to trek across the Gobi Desert in what became Mongolia around sixty-five million years later. They traveled ridiculous distances that would kill a normal man for running too much without stopping. This could be the Helmraptors' desert."

"So…you're saying that the Vhozon Ruins could be farther away than expected?" Samus asked.

"Precisely, Lady," Adam answered. "Taxonomically, the Helmraptors may be hardly related to the velociraptors. But they've represented them in almost every other way possible."

Samus then pointed something out. "A normal man can die from running too much without stopping?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm not a normal man. I'm not even a man," Samus said. "I'm a superhuman female."

"Gah, you women and your tendency to point out that women are not men, as if trying to prove a point," Adam spoke. Samus glared.

"We don't have to prove a point," Samus said. She then realized how disgustingly feminine she sounded right then, so she changed the subject. "Adam, are we still in Aurora Heights?"

"Indeed we are," Adam responded. "Particularly, in the pillar area, where Vhozon warriors train and meditate."

Suddenly, something popped up on Samus's visor, notifying her of an unpleasant disturbance. The notification said as follows:

_"Unidentified species migration taking hold."_

It then opened her virtual map of the area, which was still mostly hidden due to a lack of a map station. Sure enough, it pointed to a dome-shaped chamber on her map, which she did not know the path to. The remnant notification stated that an anomaly resided in this room. To Samus, the word "anomaly" could mean practically anything, ranging from a big boss battle to an unidentified item upgrade. She called for Adam.

"I see it," Adam spoke ahead. "The anomaly is emitting both organic frequencies and non-organic frequencies. Your best bet is to investigate."

Samus agreed, and pressed on. She walked through the chasm she was on the bottom of, and entered an oddly-placed door. The door led into a small passageway with its walls covered in purple-blue tiles with exotic symbols all over each tile. Adam spoke up.

"Apparently, a patch of ruins takes up some of the Aurora Heights area, Samus," Adam said. "But don't think this is the official 'Vhozon Ruins' quite yet."

Samus nodded as she continued down the hall. The next corridor was large, and very much lined with the same mysterious tiles she found in the previous hallway. The corridor was mostly vertical, with multiple steps and other bridge-like structures leading to the top. But out of instinct, Samus went into the nearest room that was not where she just was. The room was dull and round. In the center resided a mysterious glowing station. Samus walked into it, and was greeted by a shock of pain. A strange device plopped down and forced Samus's arm cannon to insert itself into the device, mysteriously seemingly designed for her arm cannon. When the device detached, Samus calmed down from the sudden pain shock, and saw this notification on her heads-up display:

_"The map for this area has been downloaded."_

Her visor then pulled up the newly-downloaded map. To Samus's surprise, it was not just Aurora Heights's map; it was the map to practically everywhere on Vho. The Frostbitten Wasteland, Aurora Heights, and even some areas Samus didn't know existed appeared on the map. As expected, Settlement Zero showed up nowhere, seeing as it was made by the Space Pirates. But still, this map would be very beneficial. Now, the rooms connecting where she was to the dome-shaped room she was notified to visit popped up. Samus jumped when she saw a lot. But she sucked it up, and continued. Carefully, Samus climbed the steps and crossed the bridges that brought her to the top. To her surprise, there was no form of animal life in here. She forgot about that fact, and entered through the door at the top of the shaft.

Samus then found herself outside. She looked up, and all around. But she soon saw clouds forming above her. _Precipitation?_ she thought. Shortly after, pellets of ice fell and hit Samus hard. When what seemed like a trillion pellets of ice fell, Samus felt her energy drain.

"Samus, you must take cover," Adam said suddenly. "The hail will hurt your energy terribly."

Samus thought fast, and ran over to a nearby cave. She sat down.

"What now, Adam?" she asked.

"I suppose you could wait for the hail to subside, or you can try to run through it," Adam responded. Samus poked her head out of the cave, and looked at where she was about to go. It was just an icy plain, with no spots to take cover whatsoever. But soon, Samus saw an enormous shadow cast on the plain, and it flew across the plain. She looked up into the sky, and saw an enormous white bird. It flew over the plain without being harmed by the hail. Samus then got what could hatch into a successful plan. She scanned the bird.

_"A new __**[Creatures]**__ entry has been added to your logbook. Ornithology: __**Gargun**__. Garguns are enormous birds that are harmless to everything except the prey it feeds on. They are not affected by the bitter cold atmosphere of Vho, nor are they harmed by the extreme precipitation that is known to damage most other life forms on Vho. The Gargun actually prefers the extreme precipitation, and as such is most commonly found in Aurora Heights, where the hail commonly falls."_

The precursor to Samus's plan hatched and became official.

"What are you thinking about, Lady?" Adam wondered.

"If I stay in the bird's shadow, I can remain safe underneath the hail!" Samus spoke.

"Ah, yes," Adam replied. "The bird is large and slow, so it will be relatively easy to stay underneath it. Just be careful."

Samus nodded, and ran out to be under the bird's shadow. She had accumulated some massive damage, but not enough to be a huge issue. She looked down, and tried her best to remain inside the shadow. The bird flew slowly, and Samus ran as soon as she figured she was close to the next door, and ran in after she opened it. Shortly after, she slipped down a slope. The bottom of the slope greeted Samus harshly by making her crash into a thick wall of ice. Samus stood up, and took the next door. The next room was, in fact, dome-shaped. She was surprised, seeing as that the map made her conclude that more rooms sat between her and her destination. But when she pulled up the map, it said she wasn't in a recorded room. Instead, she was directly above her destination. Assuming she had to turn back, Samus turned around, but only to be yanked to the ground brutally. She recoiled from the massive pain surging down her back. She turned her head to look behind where she lay, and saw a large, aggressive, white monster that had a lizard build and sported fins on its hind legs. Samus scanned it before the inevitable attack.

_"A new __**[Creatures]**__ entry has been added to your logbook. Morphology: __**Omega Ice Metroid**__. Omega Ice Metroids are vicious, brutal, and merciless hunters, being the fear of many harmless people as they trudge through the icy wasteland. They often hunt in small packs usually consisting of three Omega Ice Metroids. When a blizzard is out, packs of them hunt through the blizzard. Since the Omega Ice Metroids are blind, finding prey or possible natural competitors via heat is quite easy considering how rare heat is found throughout the surface of Vho. The ice variant of the Omega Metroids is far more aggressive and assertive when they are protecting the Queen Ice Metroid. These hunters attack with their claws and teeth, along with burrowing. The only known way to kill an Omega Ice Metroid is to __**break its core membrane**__ with a __**concussive blast**__, while subsequently __**forcing a heated blow**__ into the core."_

Samus stood up clumsily. She pointed her arm cannon at the Omega Ice Metroid, and stood there. The eyeless lizard simply growled at Samus. She launched a diffusion missile at the core membrane of the Metroid, and the membrane subsequently cracked. The Omega Ice Metroid responded to the move by moving in to rid of Samus. It started to tear her with its claws, and then it picked her up with its teeth. The Omega Ice Metroid shook Samus as she was in its jaws, and then threw Samus to the bottom of the uncharted dome-shaped room Samus was in. Soon enough, Samus fell through a small hole in the center of the dip in the dome. She stood up, finding herself in a different dome-shaped room. Samus looked all around as many small Ice Metroid larvae popped out of the snow and pursued Samus. She reacted by entering Morph Ball and bombing them all. With that, Alpha and Gamma Ice Metroids appeared in fewer numbers. Samus tried a new tactic, and extended her Plasma Sword. Samus shoved the blade into the core of the Ice Metroid pupae, one by one, and they died. Right after, five Zeta Ice Metroids and three Omega Ice Metroids climbed out of the burrows they dug. They pursued Samus at a rapid speed, and Samus simply cowered. She could not handle an ambush of Metroids this large. But soon enough, a large tremble took place. Samus fell, and soon shut her eyes hard as an earth-shattering roar surged across the dome-shaped roar. Subsequently, the swarm of adult Ice Metroids cleared up, and an awkward-looking creature resembling a narwhal dug itself out of the ground. The monster had a vicious set of teeth, two front arms with nasty claws, two hind legs with fins attached to the end, and a spiky-ended long tail. It was heavily armored as well. It had nasty red and black eyes, and a deadly-looking horn on what could have been its nose. The monster had what looked like eel-like structures hanging from behind its eyes. The monster roared again, making Samus cringe. Samus struggled to pull up the Scan Visor to scan the beast.

_"A new __**[Creatures]**__ entry has been added to your logbook. Morphology: __**Queen Ice Metroid**__. The only female Ice Metroid in its population, the queen is quite the tough opponent. It will not go down easily. Though proven to be a difficult contender in itself, the Queen Ice Metroid is heavily guarded by vicious Ice Metroids of each metamorphic stage. The Queen Ice Metroid handles all migrations the Ice Metroids undertake, so there is no confirmed hive meant to allow Ice Metroids to reside there. The queen fights in numerous brutal ways, often holding its prey down for it to rip the internal organs of the victim out with its set of teeth. The queen is very dangerous and no one should attempt to handle one. They say you can kill the Queen Ice Metroid similarly to terminating an Omega Ice Metroid, but it cannot be confirmed for sure."_

Samus held her arms apart, as if allowing the queen to attack her. And sure enough, the queen started to dash toward Samus.

--

"Where the hell is Samus?" Ridley asked into the intercom. He was now on the new replacement mother ship, as was Kraid.

"We're searching, sir," the Recovery Squadron commander spoke back. Ridley roared and sighed at once.

"Once you find her, pick her up. Never let the chance pass!" Ridley exclaimed. The commander agreed, and the transmission was terminated. Ridley facepalmed. "Gah…if we don't find Samus in the next sixty hours, we are just going to have to go to the Vhozon Infrastructure, and hope she will catch up."

"What if she doesn't show up? Should we assume the worst?" a pilot asked. Ridley grinned.

"With Samus? Never assume the worst."

**Author's Note: **Sorry about how this chapter just dragged...there wasn't much to include in it. This chapter is easily not my best, so don't think I believe I excelled with this one.


	13. Road to the Infrastructure

**Chapter Thirteen: Path to the Infrastructure**

A split second before the Queen Ice Metroid brutally tackled Samus, Samus extended her Plasma Sword and slashed at the being. But to Samus's misfortune, all the sword did was rebound off of the creature's skin.

_All right, _she thought. _So I can't just cut it open. Time for plan B._

The creature knocked Samus to the ground as the thought went through her mind. It raised a claw, as if about to directly gut Samus, but Samus gripped the claw quickly and pushed the queen over. To Samus's surprise, the queen was lighter than she initially imagined. The queen shuffled to stand upright once more, and took another charge at Samus, this time with its horn sticking out. Samus responded by jumping over the beast. As soon as she landed on the icy ground behind the queen, Samus turned to attempt a counterstrike with the Plasma Beam, only to find it gone. Confused, Samus walked over to the spot she expected the queen to stand. She kneeled down and noticed an inconsistency: the once perfect ground now had a dent in it, as if a hole was dug. Suddenly, Samus felt a tremble, followed by the loud roar of ice and snow pounding the earth beneath it, similar to the sound an avalanche emits. Samus then heard the high-pitched screech that which characterized the Queen Ice Metroid. Samus was not only knocked to the ground, but was gripped as well, by the nasty claws that belonged to the queen. In an attempt to tear Samus's body in half, the queen stretched its arms, each connected to either vertical end of Samus, in opposite directions. However, the queen was surprised when it felt the pressure pulling back on its arms as they extended release. A large bomb began to detonate on the queen's belly, and the queen watched as a strange ball it had never seen before rolled away, as if the ball was trying to avoid the blast.

The brightness of the bomb shone as the queen felt its nerves respond to its core membrane, located on its belly as with any other Metroid, with a sharp pain. As its response, the queen shrieked loudly. Samus unmorphed from the Morph Ball, and first questioned the damage she had dealt. She observed the core membrane crack from the Power Bomb she laid on the queen's belly. After about ten seconds of cracking, the core membrane shattered. Samus noted that the organs within the Queen Ice Metroid did not fall out as expected. To remedy this, Samus aimed her arm cannon, switched to the Plasma Beam, directly at the exposed stomach and heart of the Queen Ice Metroid. Samus unleashed a charged shot only seconds later after charging up, and the hit was direct. However, the queen's response to this blow was different from what Samus had expected: it simply shrieked again. Samus, puzzled, asked Adam for help.

"What the hell should I do?" Samus asked. "I've tried everything I assumed would be effective in my repertoire!"

"Well, the creature emitted a pained shriek after your charged shot… I suggest you keep firing. Or, perhaps, the exposed underside of the creature can be ripped apart by your Plasma Sword," Adam suggested.

Samus took the suggestion, and extended her Plasma Sword. She dashed at the queen as it remained partially helpless on its backside, and quickly jabbed her Plasma Sword into its heart. Samus braced for a loud shriek, and sure enough, it bellowed. She started to roughly slide the blade down the creature's belly. The nasty sound of flesh ripping pounded Samus's eardrums as she slowly killed the creature. Soon enough, the queen's shrieks got gradually quieter, and eventually the queen stopped screaming altogether. At this point, Samus removed the blade from the queen's gut, and retracted it. She was breathing heavily. The small trembles stopped, and the Ice Metroids were not popping out of the snow anymore.

"Adam…" Samus whispered. "Did I just end this species' hope for survival? By killing their queen, did I rid the chance of another being born?"

"I am certain that, if anything, you have only doomed this particular population. It would, quite frankly, be rather foolish to assume that this was the only Ice Metroid population on a planet so expansive. A single population cannot uphold an entire species, after all," Adam answered.

"I suppose you're right…" Samus said. Another tremble shot through the ground, and Samus fell over in response. Soon, she heard the ringing sound of a sniper shot bellow in her ears. She looked to the right, and saw a red stream stand next to where her skull was a few seconds ago. The stream was deteriorating. Immediately, Samus looked up.

"There!" a red figure called as it pointed at Samus. She easily deduced that the voice belonged to no one other than Trace. Samus shot an Ice Beam shot at the hunter's head, encasing his head in ice, thus obstructing his view. Samus reached over and pulled the Queen Ice Metroid's corpse over her. The large cavity which held the organs of the queen was large enough to house an unmorphed Samus. She heard the roar of an escort ship, followed by organized marching.

_Wait a minute, _Samus thought. _Krikens are relentless and deadly. They do not move in such an orderly fashion when in packs. Come to think of it, that ship doesn't emit the sound of a Kriken engine, and the same goes for a Space Pirate escort ship. Could it be?... Trace is helping the Federation?_

Samus assumed this was some sort of paying gig. Trace was a bounty hunter, after all, and as of then, Samus was the hunted. She remained calm and collected as she heard the loud stomps of a man in tough armor drop from a height of about ten feet. The sound repeated again and again.

_Trace is tracking me, _Samus thought. _And he's using the Federation to assist with the dirty work._

Samus listened to the men talking. "Got anything?" one asked.

"That's a negative," the other man responded. "This room is completely empty, save for that carcass over there."

"Flip it over," the first man said. "For all you and I know, she could be hiding under there."

"Or maybe that Trace character is playing us," the second man suggested. "I thought the Krikens had terrible vision."

"Most do," the first man assured. "But Trace is different in that regard. Just check it for me."

Samus suddenly heard the footsteps get louder as she knew the man was approaching. She held her breath. She felt her shelter shift a bit, and then moved back into place. "No way in hell I'm touching that," the voice spoke. It sounded louder, mostly because it was directly next to her.

"Eh," the second man started. "I suppose I can't blame you. What the hell is that thing, anyway?"

"Like I'm supposed to know?" the louder voice sounded off.

"Samus," Adam spoke. "Wait for them to leave."

"If Trace finds me before I find him, I'm dead, Adam," Samus whispered. "He's perseverant, and my safety is vital."

Adam was silenced. Samus listened a bit longer at the two men talking to each other, until the scratchy, annoying voice of Trace shouted at them.

"Where is she?" Trace yelled angrily. "I saw her down here. I know I saw her!"

"We can't find her anywhere. Did you have a mirage?"

Samus heard another _THUMP! _Trace had jumped down. Though Samus could not see it, Trace was now face-to-face with the Federation trooper. "Emperor Gyrion gave me this armor because I can do what is honorable. He gave me this enhanced gun to symbolize my ability to one-shot anything I wish from a given distance. And, while you may not be able to see it," Trace pointed at his eye and said, "he gave me this eye implant to further enhance my perfect vision, a trait which is a rarity among Krikens. When it comes to me, you believe what I saw, understand?"

The trooper nodded, standing in a strange posture as if being uncomfortable. Samus then heard Trace's heavy footsteps, stomping since he was angry and not trying to be stealthy, as he marched away from the trooper, sounding as if he was pacing as he dug through snow to find her.

"Besides," Trace began. "Do you see this perfectly-shaped ice shard in my hand?" Trace turned to face the troopers, in order to show them what he was holding. "Hardly a work of nature, I'd say. It looks like it was shot out of a… an _arm cannon,_ no?"

The troops nodded in agreement. "Samus is known to have an Ice Beam upgrade," one trooper agreed.

"Precisely," Trace assured. Trace then took note of awkward and weak brain patterns emitting from the carcass he did not check yet. Trace pointed at it. "Do you know what _that_ looks like?" he asked in a manner as if he knew the answer and was challenging the troopers.

"A native creature?" a trooper asked.

Trace nodded as he said, "Yes, but I was thinking closer to a _Metroid._ See, my scanner is very accurate. Why would it lie to me when it tells me that the carcass over there, deceased only minutes ago, once was the _Queen Ice Metroid_?" As that question was rhetorical, Trace continued with another one. "Let me ask you this instead: _who kills Metroids_?"

"S-Samus?" one of the troopers asked, unsure.

"Yes!" Trace screamed, even angrier than before, but he seemed to calm down. "So therefore…" Trace spoke as if he wanted the troopers to finish the sentence.

"Samus was here?" the other trooper wondered.

"_Exactly_," Trace said very slowly, acting as if he was trying to teach young children. Samus could hear Trace's stomping get louder. He was approaching. "And why would my scanner _lie_ when it says that another organism of normal brainwave structures is hiding underneath a recently-deceased organism with weakening brainwave structures?"

Suddenly, a bright explosion went off from underneath the carcass, sending the carcass upward, Trace backward, and causing the troopers to cover their faces. Out of the explosion, Samus ran up to a trooper and stabbed it in the stomach with her Plasma Sword. She then ran up and slit the other one's throat. She did this while they were recovering from the blinding flash of a Power Bomb. Samus stacked the two bodies carefully, and jumped up to get out of the hole. She hung on the edge, trying to pull herself up. Trace, who accumulated some damage from the bomb, was already trying to snipe her. With plenty of luck, Samus pulled herself up and started running. She ran past the escort ship. Trace jumped up as well, and climbed onto the escort ship. He shouted at the pilot inside.

"Drive! Follow her! I'll snipe her as you fly this thing!" he shouted. The pilot followed orders, and took off. The ship maintained a speed to keep behind Samus, but then Samus turned red and caught fire, running at a ridiculous speed. "Damn it!" Trace called out. Samus then took off directly in front of her with her shoulder pointing out. She shinesparked out of sight. Trace swore. "Keep going!"

"This is the fastest the ship will fly!" the G-Fed pilot yelled back. Trace purposefully hit himself on the head and screamed out in extreme anger. He then slumped down on top of the ship.

"If I don't kill her, I won't be set free from you bastards," he whispered to himself, referring to the Galactic Federation and their new alliance with the Krikens that Trace was ordered to uphold. "If I don't kill her, she won't die."

* * *

"Samus? Are you there?" a voice called Samus, who was resting in a small ice trench after Trace lost her. The voice belonged to Weavel.

"Yeah, I'm here," Samus replied, sounding tired.

"You sound exhausted," Weavel pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I was just running from the Galactic Federation and Trace. It wasn't just a walk in the park," Samus panted.

"You ran from Trace _and _the Federation? Talk about a war triangle!" Weavel chuckled.

"Yeah, well," Samus spoke again. "Trace is with the Federation now."

"What?" Samus heard Ridley scream. Ridley patched in on the conversation. "Find him! If we capture him, we can force him to speak to Gyrion and get punished for his betrayal."

"But what if _all_ Krikens are now with the Federation?" Weavel asked. "Sounds like a dirty deal could have been made between Gyrion and Vogl."

"Perhaps," Ridley agreed. He changed the subject. "How is your little expedition coming along, Samus?"

"It's fine," Samus said. "It's no different from what you Space Pirates put me through several times before, albeit the roles between you and the Federation were swapped."

"I can only imagine," Ridley said grimly, in a sarcastic tone. "How close are you to the Vhozon Ruins?"

"I dunno, maybe about seven miles?" Samus suggested. "I must have shinesparked over at least sixty miles of land to escape Trace."

"Excellent," Ridley assured. "And it's good to know that your radio signal is working again, Samus."

The transmission closed. Samus sat down, and was surprised. Her suit was no longer white with a black secondary color, but it was now a light green with blue as the secondary color. Her arm cannon was more traditionally-colored this time.

"Adam, did I get an upgrade?" she asked.

"Affirmative, Lady. I should have told you sooner, but it would have been an awkward moment for you with the G-Feds around," Adam answered. "Upon killing and touching the Queen Ice Metroid, you received two upgrades. Allow me to replay the notifications, which I hid earlier so you would not be distracted."

-WEATHER SUIT UPGRADE ACQUIRED. BLIZZARDS AND FOG NO LONGER OBSTRUCT YOUR VIEW, AND YOU ARE UNAFFECTED BY VIOLENT HAILSTORMS AND ACID RAIN.-

-ACID BEAM LEVEL 2 UPGRADE ACQUIRED. THE ACID BEAM NOW DOES MORE DAMAGE AND CAN NOW DISINTEGRATE THICKER ALLOYS WHICH WERE PREVIOUSLY INDESTRUCTIBLE.-

The new suit had a black-gray-ish headpiece and a red visor instead of a pink one. Now, Samus had the remedy to her hail problems.

A blizzard began to rise and blow like an ice-based sandstorm, but Samus could see clearly through it. She stood back up, hopped out of the trench, and ran in the direction she was going. She then shinesparked for faster travel.

Samus hit her shoulder on something tough. Upon exiting shinespark, she looked up. She stood before a very tall gateway, which was dark-blue colored and very strange in terms of design. It looked ancient. Without a second thought, Samus knocked on the gateway, which then mysteriously opened up. Samus slowly walked through, observing her surroundings with awe. Surrounding her was a fine establishment of ancient Vhozon art and architecture, but all of it was showing its age, with some buildings crumbling. Samus, still amazed, touched the detailed wall carved to vaguely depict the Vhozons fighting something. Perhaps an ancient war?

Samus was knocked over, as she felt extreme pain in her side. She stood back up, and pointed her arm cannon in the direction of her assailant. It was a Helmraptor. The creature hissed loudly, and glared at Samus as if to intimidate her. Following her instincts, Samus shot a glob of Acid Beam at the Helmraptor's head. As a result, it fell over whilst its head was slowly eaten away by a brutal acid.

"You almost never stop to think before you kill something," Adam remarked.

"Is that a bad thing?" Samus asked.

"No, not necessarily, I suppose," Adam answered. "But I believe someday it will cost you dearly."

Suddenly, a large pack of Helmraptors surrounded Samus. This was a larger pack than the one she encountered in the deepest trenches of Aurora Heights. Samus pointed her arm cannon straight at one, then the other, and she kept refocusing her aim as if she had no idea which one to shoot first. Obviously, she was going to utilize her Acid Beam on all of them, as she would only spend six shots-provided she hits every shot, she would be done with the pack in about ten seconds. Samus then remembered the log entry, and how it said projectiles will likely miss. She must've gotten lucky with the aggressor of this pack, as she pretty much blew its head clean off. But would she be so lucky with this bunch? After all, the Acid Beam was rather slow when not charged, and a charged shot would spend just enough time for Samus to be tackled by all of them at once. So, upon this thought, Samus switched to her Plasma Sword, took a deep breath in, and charged at the Helmraptor directly in front of her. The sword went straight through the creature's mouth, and it stuck out of the back of its head. After some shrieking, the creature dropped, which caused the stationary Plasma Sword to split its upper jaw in half as it fell down. Samus then proceeded to cut another's head off, and another's arm and leg off. The last, untouched creature jumped onto Samus and held her arm cannon down so Samus could do no harm to it. Pinned, Samus quickly morphed and laid a Power Bomb. She then rolled away and promptly unmorphed. The creature went flying back, and Samus finished it as it was still flying back from the bomb by cutting the creature in half, with the cutting line being its torso. After some brief shrieking, the creature died. Samus shot an Acid Beam shot at the one missing an arm and a leg to finish it off, but didn't absorb any energy from it because this bunch hardly damaged her. Samus jumped onto a stone golem, and entered through the nearest door.

The next few corridors were nothing but emptiness, sans the ancient Vhozon architecture the place was made out of. The overall design of the architecture reminded Samus of the Chozo, but it was different enough to remind her that it wasn't. Perhaps the Chozo and Vhozons were allies at one time, but something happened that made them absent in the Chozo's ally folder in Mother Brain on Zebes. Samus didn't know. Maybe the Chozo declared them enemies the moment the realized the Vhozons were in cahoots with the Federation.

"Adam… I think I know why the Chozo disliked the Federation," Samus spoke as she walked across the stone, icy floor constructed by a sentient force long ago. "Did they know of its corruption?"

"I can only assume so," Adam said. "They continued to refuse any form of help the Federation offered them; they did not allow the Federation to survey their settlements or their experiments; and they insisted on being of their own empire."

"But I remember, long ago," Samus started. "When I was young. My mother and father were still alive then, but they died on that same day… the Chozo came to talk to the Federation for some reason-"

"I'm fairly certain they were warning your father's troop of the Space Pirate threat. That, or they were discussing fuel trading, but the Chozo ultimately refused the deal. I can't remember which," Adam interrupted. "Either way, they refused to choose sides when the Space Pirates did attack, implying that they do not like to delve into others' business, or they believed the Federation was no better than the Space Pirates."

"Something tells me that if they were alive today, they would prefer the Federation over the Pirates," Samus guessed. "Given that they were killed off for all we know by the Space Pirates."

"Not… exactly," Adam said reluctantly. "Not about the supposed extinction of the Chozo race, as that is an apparent truth… but the Chozo had a knack for knowing vital secrets."

"What do you mean?" Samus was confused.

"Samus, I hate to admit this, but Ridley was right. About everything he said concerning the Federation. I wanted to deny it, but I felt that if I did, I would only cement Ridley's point even further, and that I would lose your trust," Adam admitted. "I have no idea what the Space Pirates' ultimate goal is, but I do know the Federation's. It is to cleanse the universe of any potential threat… any potential threat which can jeopardize their reputation and, thus, their power. They _have_ the power to cleanse the universe of any form of crime, or at least a large percentage of it, but they don't tell the public this because then the public would question why they aren't acting on their cause. So why isn't crime gone? Because they'll only act if it threatens their power. And they go to extreme measures often in order to properly achieve their goal."

"So… the Federation is just a power-hungry empire disguising itself as a democracy?" Samus wondered.

"I suppose you could describe it like that," Adam answered.

"And you are saying the Space Pirates are the good guys?" Samus asked. She was confused, as the implication given by the question contradicted Adam's disposition towards the Space Pirates.

"Not necessarily," Adam replied. "I personally wouldn't call an empire of genocidal murderers and illegal experimenters [the Space Pirates] the 'good guys'. On the other hand, however, I would not call an organization of selfish liars and indirect thieves [the Galactic Federation] the 'good guys', either. The Federation and the Space Pirates are competitors of equal credibility when given the right information. But the Federation, who is far more successful in maintaining false order, obviously sets up propaganda to force the public to believe that the Space Pirates are the villains here, even though the Federation is in no way better."

"I find it very odd of you to come clean like this, just out of nowhere," Samus pointed out.

"I know," Adam assured. "Samus, I do not in any way like Ridley nor his army. But to this day, I regret once being of a high rank in an organization just as guilty. You see, I was told the better, less corrupt parts of the information I shared when I reached a higher rank, but I have just recently connected the dots."

"If the Chozo were still around, do you think they would try to bring an end to this 'war'?" Samus asked Adam. After a brief pause, Adam responded.

"Perhaps," he started. "But I'd imagine that they simply embraced fate when the Pirates forced their extinction, or, rather, their disappearance."

"I still do not understand what Ridley's incentive was when he massacred both K-2L and Zebes…" Samus spoke softly, slightly changing the subject.

"It was always said that he simply wanted to pillage them, for no concrete reason," Adam told Samus. "But, now that I have gotten close enough to learn more about his person, I can easily believe that everything he does has or had a decent reason behind it."

* * *

It was loud in the mothership; Space Pirate soldiers were cheering to prepare for battle against the Vhozons, a battle which was only a couple of hours away. Ridley was standing with his hands behind his back in front of a flexi-glass case, lit well to contrast with the otherwise dim room. The glass case contained a suit with a flexible black substance covering a dark purple base, along with a red cannon connected to the suit's right arm and a dark green headpiece with a light brown colored visor. Ridley was looking at a suit upgrade for Samus.

"It is almost complete, sir," a Space Pirate spoke as it saw Ridley stare at the suit. "It will effectively notify Pirates of Samus's loyalty to prevent confusion, and its camouflage system is online."

"And the requested program? Is it finished and installed?" Ridley asked, not facing the Space Pirate scientist.

"That's… what we're still working on," the Pirate reluctantly spoke. "But we're almost finished."

"Hurry up," Ridley spat. "The Vhozon raid will begin in all of two and a half hours from now, and this suit will prove extremely useful to Samus when it happens and during any fight after so."

"Yes, sir!" the Pirate saluted, and went back to his work. Ridley sighed.

_Only a little longer,_ Ridley thought. _Only a little longer until I get the information I need._


	14. Raid

**Chapter Fourteen: Raid**

Samus entered through another door, this time leading her into a corridor filled with more modernly-designed buildings, though they retained the foreign feel. At the same time, Samus heard voices speaking in a different language than English; but this did not stop her from roughly translating U-Mos's words when he spoke to her on Aether all of thirteen years ago. She listened carefully while reading what popped up on her screen. All they were saying was simple, casual conversation. Suddenly, Samus heard a radio transmission come in.

"Samus, we've pinpointed your coordinates, and learned that you are nearby a small fleet of Vhozon warriors," Weavel said. "Ridley commands you to retreat one room to accept an upgrade crucial to your survival."

Samus was a bit confused. Another upgrade? She quietly sneaked into the room she was in before, and found a floating upgrade in the middle. Samus touched it, and felt her suit upgrade.

-SPACE PIRATE SUIT UPGRADE ACQUIRED. YOUR LOYALTY TO THE SPACE PIRATES IS NOW VISIBLE, AND YOU CAN ALSO CAMOUFLAGE WITH THIS SUIT.-

Samus was puzzled. What was the point? She proceeded to ask the same question to Weavel, but Ridley answered instead.

"The raid is close in time, Samus," Ridley answered. "This suit is crafted to have colors similar to our own, making friendly fire, even accidental, inexcusable. You can also camouflage with it, allowing you to sneak by the Vhozon warriors unnoticed."

"Does it camouflage my weaponry?" Samus asked.

"That's the downside. It will not even camouflage your Plasma Sword, so be careful. The camouflage is meant entirely for stealth without assassination," Ridley assured. "Good luck, Samus. We will attack in ten minutes."

Samus stared at her arms, then opened up her databanks to view what the suit looked like. It was, again, just the same as her Fusion Suit, except what was originally blue (referring to the Fusion Suit, not the Weather Suit) is now a dark gray, borderline black, and what was originally yellow is now a dark purple which complemented the dark primary color beautifully. Her head-piece was now a dark, almost military-like green instead of red, and instead of a blue visor, the suit sported a light-brown or tan color. And her arm cannon was now a bright, almost blood colored red. Colors which, although not exactly like a Space Pirate's, thoroughly reminded her of one herself.

"And now you're wearing their uniform," Adam said, sounding disgusted. He sighed.

"What's wrong with that? After all, I'm a Space Pirate now, Adam. No longer a freelance bounty hunter," Samus retorted. "Now, how do I activate the camouflage on this?"

"It appears an extra button has made its way onto your arm cannon," Adam pointed out. Samus pressed it, and saw her arm cannon disappear. Well, not exactly disappear, but enough to where Samus could see through it. She could see the shape of her arm cannon magnifying the background behind it as she swung it side to side. It wasn't a perfect camouflage, but if the guards in question were not paying attention, she could slip by easily. Samus opened the door, and re-entered where the warriors were. Samus sneaked by them without being noticed, largely because they were talking to one another in joking tones, as if they were just goofing off.

Samus stepped out into the streets of the Vhozon Infrastructure, which reminded her greatly of an ancient human marketplace they typically had in what was called the "Middle East" on Earth, but it obviously was not sandy and arid, but rather icy and… well, arid, since no humidity was detected.

Yet at the same time, Samus saw what was similar to an ancient city from what was called the "United States" back in the twenty-first century. She felt as though she may have been in the slums of this city, as the large castle-like structure which towered at least a mile high was majestic and beautiful, retaining the design of the Vhozon Ruins. It was fairly obvious that castle was the Emperor's lair.

Samus took a few steps forward, dodging any civilian who approached so they would not collide, in order to examine the city a bit more. Vhozon civilians populated the city, of course, without another race to be found in the mix. They were standing at merchant stands, begging for food and water, or perhaps they wanted some sort of discount. Either way, Samus felt sorry for them. Who knows, maybe Ridley only plans to eradicate the direct Federation links? Because these people looked so horribly isolated, it was difficult to believe that they knew who the Federation was. They looked completely innocent.

Suddenly, Samus heard organized stomping from around the corner of one of the icy-blue colored buildings. Within seconds, she saw Federation troopers marching around said corner, with their weapons prepared for firing. She then heard a very familiar voice.

"There she is!" the voice of Trace called. Samus looked up, and saw the red bastard standing atop a roof of a building, pointing at her. "Shoot! Shoot!"

Without a second thought, the Federation troopers unloaded their guns as if they were a firing squad performing an execution. Many times, Samus saw civilians get shot, sometimes killed in the process. After getting clipped a few times, Samus morphed and rolled away from the massacre. She hid behind a building, turned off her cloak, and watched as the troopers shot blankly at the face of the mountain Samus stood in front of seconds ago. She heard Trace again.

"Stop, stop!" he yelled. Samus heard the Kriken jump down from the roof with a hearty _thump!_ "She got away! She escaped behind that building!"

Samus didn't even question how Trace saw her when she was camouflaged, as it was fairly obvious: infrared sight. He saw Samus's body heat as a bright red signature. Samus listened as the troopers marched closer to the corner she was hiding at, but sure enough, Samus heard the screeching of a missile flying through the air and crashing on the ground, creating a loud _boom!_ Samus saw the dead bodies of three troopers fly and hit the mountainside in different ways, each looking painful. She then examined them being finished off by green, wavy plasma. Samus turned around the corner, and saw multiple Space Pirate soldiers firing away at another fleet of Federation troopers. The war has begun.

Samus immediately noticed that the Space Pirates _weren't_ firing at the civilians, and to this, Samus asked one, "What are Ridley's orders?"

"He told us to eradicate any form of Federation trooper, but he said to try to leave the civilians alone," the Space Pirate replied. With this, Samus was fairly happy. She was happy to know that Ridley must have had some sort of heart. A radio transmission came in, and sure enough, it was Ridley.

"Samus, I was never exactly clear with your orders," Ridley spoke in a strained, loud voice, which was understandable since Samus realized he was flying at extremely fast speeds, and fighting against fairly strong winds. He was communicating through a small radio transmitter placed next to his eye. "I want you to be at the Emperor's palace as soon as possible. I don't expect you to be there within the next fifteen minutes, seeing as Federation troopers litter the entire city, but just try. Oh, and avoid killing civilians as best you can. They have nothing to do with this."

Samus nodded, and saluted. The transmission ended. "Now, this I did not expect of Ridley," Adam sounded impressed. "He actually wants you to _spare_ lives!"

Samus didn't respond, but she proceeded to run towards the gigantic blue and exotically-designed palace. She entered Speed Booster and shot forward in shinespark. Samus looked ahead, and saw a building approaching extremely fast. Around her was the world simply zipping by her. She heard the gunshots of the Federation troops trying to kill her. She hit the building, and then fell to the ground, landing on her feet. She hopped up onto the building, and ran across the rooftops elegantly, since her suit was not as heavy as the Chozo-made variant. That was one thing to credit the Federation for: they gave her more agility with the Fusion Suit. Samus jumped across gaps to other buildings, sometimes having to grab a ledge to pull her up onto a rooftop. As she ran, Federation troops were firing at her relentlessly, with occasional brief pauses between each large wave of energy pellets flying at her. At one point, Samus jumped across a very large gap, and felt herself miss the jump. She strained to grip the nearest ledge in order to reach safety, but she stretched her arm out a split second late for that. Samus fell to the ground back-first. Extreme pain shot through her nerves, and while she was just absorbing it for a few seconds before she bothered to stand back up, a group of Federation troopers shouted "Get her!" and opened fire. A few shots hit Samus, but she soon heard a sound she did not hear in as long as fifteen years. She first heard this sound as a weapon one of the hunters used in the Alimbic Cluster. Her pain from both the large fall and the subsequent shots made her brain unable to pinpoint what it was. Each shot sounded like glass shattering. Soon, Samus saw Weavel standing above her, holding a hand out. Samus stood up, and quickly recovered from her pain. She had heard Weavel's Battlehammer weapon.

"Not much farther," Weavel pointed out to Samus. "The palace is only a few blocks away."

Weavel practically yelled as he spoke, since his normal, human-like voice would easily be drowned out by the absurdly high volume of the war taking place out on the streets. Samus nodded, and then took a glance at her energy meter. The bar was almost drained out, meaning she was almost dead. Samus held up her index finger on her left hand to Weavel, signaling to wait for a bit. Samus stumbled over to the corpses of the Federation troopers Weavel killed, and shot an Acid Beam shot at one of them. As the acid disintegrated the part of the corpse it touched, Samus then shot her energy-draining beam the Queen Metroid at Settlement Zero posthumously awarded her upon being defeated at the disintegrating part and drained the remaining energy the corpse had left. Her bar was now half-full again. Samus proceeded to do the same to another corpse, and her health restored to 75 percent of the maximum. Convinced this was enough, coupled with feeling much better with more energy, Samus turned to Weavel and signaled to come on. Weavel nodded, and they ran out into the streets.

Samus had her Acid Beam readied, and Weavel had his Plasma Sword extended. The two ran about the streets slaughtering Federation troopers left and right, saving many Space Pirates from death. Soon, they were at the gate of the palace.

"What do we do now?" Samus spoke through her Radio Visor to Weavel so she wouldn't have to yell.

"Ridley said for you to stay put here and await further instructions," Weavel spoke back, just as softly, yet with a stern tone. "I'm supposed to be fighting with my squadron, so I have to leave. I'm sorry, Samus."

Samus nodded, and Weavel saluted. He ran off back into the streets. Suddenly, Samus saw jagged movement in the air on a rooftop a few feet in front of her. In direct instinct, Samus sidestepped, and sure enough, the red stream of death flew directly by her head. In the process, the figure atop the building was revealed to be, of course, Trace. Trace emitted a war cry, and transformed into his dreaded Triskelion mode, which was his alternate form he utilized often during the Alimbic Expedition. It looked like Trace himself, but was slightly different in that his body now resembled something of a three-legged spider. The alternate form was infamous among the other hunters for being able to deal massive damage—it could deplete half of an Energy Tank in a single strike. Trace emitted a war cry again, which sounded like an ear-shattering screech reminiscent of an aggressive insect's chirping. Trace lunged his Triskelion form at Samus, who took the hit out of surprise. Samus was knocked over, as Trace started to swipe at her with his sharp, scythe-like legs. Samus took a few hits, and charged an Acid Beam shot, to which Trace responded by holding her right arm down by the wrist with a leg.

"I have you now!" Trace shouted, with a disturbing tone of sadistic happiness in his voice. Samus knew Trace had a grudge against her, but she didn't remember it being this horrible. Samus shut her eyes tight and braced for another strike, until she felt the pressure of Trace's weight release. Samus opened her eyes, and observed Ridley gripping Trace with his foot, then throwing Trace aside. As a result of being thrown, Trace's raindrop-shaped skull was slammed into a sturdy wall, and he felt himself fall behind a large amount of debris. The pain he just endured was so great, he could not bear to get back up.

Ridley turned to Samus, who just started to get back up, and spoke to her with a hint of urgency in his voice. "Samus, let's hurry to the top of the tower! As you make your way to the top, kill any Vhozon guard or warrior you can. Those are the corrupted ones. I will fly into the Emperor's room. Meet me in there. When I speak to him, if I start to go out of hand, please point it out. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Before Samus could respond, Ridley stretched the tightly-locked gate open with his claws and immense strength, and flew past a guard, picking it up and bashing it against the wall. He proceeded to crush another with his foot. Samus turned around to look at Ridley, and saw him take off flying upward, closely following the tower's shape as he flew. Samus ran into the tower, and was greeted by a few guards. They pointed their weapons at her and fired. Streams of purple zipped past Samus's sight, and a few even hit her. It was the Judicator. Samus shot one in the head with her Acid Beam, then shot another in the legs and left it to crawl. It didn't take long to notice that the tower's inside was comprised of one large flight of stairs circling the inner walls. Samus began to run up the stairs, eventually entering Speed Booster as she flew by or into Vhozon guards, often causing them to be trampled on violently.

When Samus reached the top of the flight of stairs, she halted in front of a large double-door and stopped flashing red and orange. She shot her Acid Beam at the door, and walked into the throne room. Around her, guards pointed their weapons at Samus, causing Samus to continuously shift her aim to decide which one to attack first. Suddenly, a large black blur dropped in from above the Emperor, who was sitting in his throne. The blur turned out to be Ridley, who gripped the Emperor and readied to kill him.

"You attack her, and your precious little Emperor dies!" Ridley hissed. The guards turned to see Ridley holding the Emperor as if he was prepared to snap its neck. The Emperor waved a hand, and the guards lowered their weapons. Ridley chuckled. "You know, having an escape hatch _directly above your throne _was not your smartest idea, I'm sure."

"What do you want, scum?" the Emperor asked Ridley. His Vhozon accent was thick, and it was implied that he barely understood English, evidenced by his slow, slurred speech.

"I want _you_ to cooperate," Ridley said acidly. "Tell your guards to leave the room, and to shut the door behind them."

The Emperor translated Ridley's demands into Vhozon and spoke them aloud. The guards listened. After the double-door slammed shut, Ridley threw the Emperor lightly towards Samus, and watched as the Emperor helplessly stumbled on the ground and lay there.

"Look behind you," Ridley said, pointing back at the now-shut double-door the Emperor was currently facing away from. The Emperor turned his head to see Samus, with her arm cannon pointed at the leader of the Vhozons. "Do you know her?"

"Samus Aran," the Emperor spat. "The hero of the galaxy. I thought you two were enemies."

"She still hates me for what I did to her," Ridley admitted. Ridley started to walk closer to the Emperor, starting to threateningly pace around him in a circle. "But she and I share the same views on corruption."

"Why don't you kill me now?" the Emperor wondered, in an angered accent.

"Because you know something that I wish to know," Ridley said calmly. He stopped pacing and halted in front of the Emperor, and bent down, sticking his head in the Emperor's face. "I want the coordinates to Daiban, and I want them _now._"

Samus was a bit confused, but she remembered then how secretive Daiban was in terms of location. Unauthorized ships were crushed upon entering the system it occupied, and in order to get in, you had to wait in an isolated containment room on a Federation ship, unable to see the planet until you landed. Federation officers always said they were never at liberty to share Daiban's coordinates when asked, and radars were always jammed before they got close. The Federation protected their leaders and checkpoints with such tight security. Only those who were directly affiliated with Chairman Vogl knew the coordinates, and maybe a few others. But Samus now knew exactly why Ridley came to Vho: first, to recruit Samus, and second, to acquire Daiban's coordinates.

"I do not know what you speak of," the Emperor claimed in his thick accent. Ridley slapped the Emperor.

"Such lies!" Ridley yelled. "Tell me now!"

"Tell me, what is Daiban?" the Emperor wondered. Suddenly, Ridley's expression changed from fierce and demanding to confused and somewhat sympathetic.

"It's… the Galactic Federation's primary checkpoint and base. Didn't you know that?" Ridley started to sound a bit confused.

"Why would you expect me to know where their base is?" the Emperor asked.

"Because you're directly affiliated with Vogl!" Ridley shouted.

"No, sir. The Galactic Federation just came in to raid us and take over our culture. They are no better than you or your damned army," the Emperor said. Upon hearing that, Samus's eyes widened. Ridley heard a hint of honesty and sincerity in the Emperor's voice. He examined the Emperor closely.

"He isn't lying," Ridley said, as if he was speaking to Samus, yet he still was looking at the Emperor. The Emperor stood up, and looked Ridley in the eye.

"We are not with this Federation," the Emperor assured. "We are with the Chozo."

"Where did they go?" Samus sounded excited and somewhat threatening as she said this. The Emperor turned to look at Samus.

"They've moved on," the Emperor spoke in a rather sad tone. "They've found peace in other galaxies."

Samus fell to her knees, sobbing. Immediately after, a red beam flew directly over her head and directly hit the Emperor's skull, causing it to violently pop into a puddle of blue. The Emperor fell over, headless, as Ridley ran over to Trace and forcefully shoved the assassin over the railing and down the flight of stairs. As Trace fell, he spoke Kriken into a transmitter, and subsequently laughed until he hit the hard floor beneath him. Ridley spoke into a transmitter, and ordered the recovery squadron to carry Trace to the mothership. Understanding Samus was not going to stop crying anytime soon, Ridley gripped her with his right claw and rocketed into the sky above through the aforementioned hatch above the late Emperor's throne.

* * *

Ridley dropped Samus off at the former landing deck filled with Metroids. At this point, Samus stopped crying and started to talk to Adam.

"Why did they just leave me?" she asked.

"I suppose, perhaps, that they wanted you to move on as well," Adam suggested. "They've never really left you, Samus. On multiple occasions, you've received upgrades developed by them on different planets. I think they're watching you, like a guardian angel."

"So… they're testing me?" Samus wondered rhetorically. "If that's the case, doesn't eighteen years of testing seem long enough?"

Adam, who could not think of anything valuable to say to cheer Samus up, simply said, "I don't know."

* * *

Ridley was sitting in a room next to Sylux, who was awake. He was there to check in on Sylux.

"If the Emperor of Vhozons didn't know where Daiban is, who else can I ask? Samus wouldn't know. She was never affiliated with Vogl," Ridley spoke aloud, sighing, and resting his head on his left palm.

"Trace knew," Sylux informed Ridley. His voice sounded croupy and, at times, mechanical. But the latter characteristic was always there, just not as prevalent. "When I escaped the Federation's prison on Daiban a few days ago, I got out because of Trace. Trace shot at Chairman Vogl, but to no avail. The police, hurrying to help the military with apprehending Trace, accidentally tripped my wire and set me free. I then met face-to-face with Trace. After some bickering, we agreed to help each other escape. We obviously made it out alive, but I attempted to kill Trace by sending him out of the airlock of his own ship, but that, too, was to no avail."

Ridley slowly turned his head to look at Sylux, through the flexi-glass which separated them. "Trace knows?" Ridley asked.

"If Daiban is as hidden as you say it is, how could he know?" Sylux wondered. Ridley shrugged.

"I will check on him," he said. As Ridley was about to exit the room, he stopped and glanced at Sylux. "You're awfully cooperative today."

"I hate you, Ridley," Sylux admitted. "But I want the Federation to fall just as much as you do."

Ridley proceeded to where they kept Trace's body. He stopped and asked a scientist, "Is he dead?"

"No, sir," the scientist told Ridley. "But he is severely injured. Should we attempt to heal him?"

Ridley chuckled. "You may not need to. We'll see," he said, and walked into the room Trace was in. "How was your fall?"

"Like you even give a shit," Trace spat. He was strapped to a table, with multiple scratches all over his exoskeleton. "So you got me. Now finish me off!"

"I am certain that you would rather live than die," Ridley said in his famous sinister tone. "And I will let you live, if you tell me the coordinates to Daiban."

"Like I'll tell you anything," Trace harshly responded.

"You found Daiban, and that's impossible unless you had the damned coordinates. What are they?" Ridley demanded. Trace didn't respond. Ridley harshly struck Trace on the head, and even after this, he got no response. "Aside from the current question at hand, you are of no use to me. I won't give it a second thought when I deliver the killing blow, understand? This is your last chance; tell me the coordinates to Daiban _now_!"

"Go to hell," Trace cursed. Ridley raised a claw, ready to kill Trace then and there, but he then simply dropped. Suddenly, the surrounding Space Pirates dropped to the floor, one of which bumping the lever controlling Trace's bindings, thus releasing him. He stood up, and walked out of the room into the halls of the mothership. Left and right, Space Pirates were simply fainting. Soon, due to the lack of conscious pilots, the mothership shook extremely hard, knocking Trace to the floor, but not knocking him unconscious. Trace received a radio transmission.

"Excellent job, Trace," a crackling voice said over the transmission. Lying on the floor, exhausted and pained due to his injuries, Trace laughed and replied.

"Thank you, O Hiera."


	15. Unexpected Interception

**Chapter Fifteen: Unexpected Interception**

Ridley woke. His eyes opened up, and he reached for the table which stood above him; the table which Trace once lie. His first personal query was not of why or how Trace was gone, which he could have asked when he felt no presence on the table. But sure enough, the first thought to come to his mind was "What the hell just happened?"

Ridley pulled himself up to a full, bipedal stand. Still a bit dizzy from his blackout, Ridley held his hand on the table to maintain support of his body. A few insane thoughts shot through his mind as he waited for his brain to catch up with reality-something anyone would do if they were forced awake. After standing for about a minute, Ridley let go of the cold metal table to see if he could walk in a straight line. Feeling his rational thought return to him, Ridley stepped through the wide-open door into the hallways of the mothership. No longer dizzy enough to induce a stagger in his movement, Ridley walked down a hallway heading towards the command deck.

As he walked, Ridley noted that he was not the only creature to blackout: Space Pirates of all ranks were on the floor, unconscious. A normal person would think they were all dead, but Ridley knew better than that. He punched the code into a machine next to a large door, and stepped into the command deck. As soon as he set one of his large, nasty dragon-like feet into the room, the first thing he saw outside the front windshield of the ship was blackness. Ridley wanted to assume they were floating in outer space, but he wasn't so sure: the pressure levels were too equally distributed, and no stars could be seen. Ridley walked up to one of the terminals a Space Pirate was working at before this horrible ship-wide blackout occurred, and flicked a button. He immediately looked back out of the enormous windshield again, and watched as the front lights of the Space Pirate Mothership flipped on, now reflecting more visible edges to the blackness in front of it. Ridley squinted his eyes to make out what was ahead, and noted that the lights shone on a natural stone formation of red and orange color. All Ridley could deduce at this point was that the ship was either parked on an asteroid, or on a planet with red and dark orange stone. Assuming the latter was the case, Ridley tried to utilize deductive reasoning to figure out what the exact planet was, but to no avail, as many planets sport such rock formations. One thing he knew for certain: they were not on Vho anymore.

Suddenly, Ridley heard insect-like screeching and chanting. He then heard rhythmic crashing noises, coupled with the lights getting dimmer with each crash. The four headlights of the ship grew dimmer and dimmer, each at its own pace without synchronization, and eventually, each went out completely. Loud and crackly cheering pounded against Ridley's eardrums, despite that the noise would be dumbed down due to the space and objects between the front of the ship and Ridley. Ridley, annoyed by this cheering, covered his ears. He knew exactly what that crackly cheering could belong to, as no other species screeched so obnoxiously.

_Krikens._

The loud noise seemed to awaken any Space Pirate within the general area of the command deck. They endured the same brief dizzy cycle Ridley did in Trace's former hospital room, but eventually recovered from it. Quite a few moaned at the deafening cheering of the Krikens outside, but thankfully, it stopped. Once Ridley was certain of this, he announced to the Space Pirates who just recently woke up.

"Gentlemen, it appears we have gone through some… unexpected interception," Ridley started. By now, every Space Pirate in the area was turned to face Ridley. "I can assume Trace did this to us, but I do not know how. Nor does it really matter. It appears he has taken our entire mothership by storm with a large fleet of Krikens, blacking us out to prevent opposition of any form. That is all I can assume, but the current evidence most certainly supports the hypothesis that we are on the most barbaric race's respective homeworld. And, from the screeching which awoke you, I can estimate that a large percentage of you know that I am referring to the Krikens."

A few gasps were made here and there from different Space Pirates. Why? Because Krikens were, in fact, among the most barbaric of all galactic hominids. Those Krikens privileged enough to earn a decent education knew how to be civil, but most matured civilians were mindless killers.

Ridley pulled out a communicator. "How is Samus doing?" he spoke into the radio. Samus responded with her Radio Visor.

"I'm fine," she replied. "What happened?"

"We believe… that we were taken by force to the Kriken homeworld. Everyone on the ship has blacked out for some time. I can assume Trace is somewhat responsible," Ridley replied. "What is the status of your horde of Metroids?"

"Unharmed," Samus answered. "I don't even think they blacked out. I see the crippled husks of Krikens all over the place; I think the Metroids were defending me, considering how close the Krikens tried to get to where I was lying down."

"Excellent," Ridley responded. "Stay put. I won't give you specific orders, but I don't want you moving out there just yet."

Samus nodded, and the radio transmission ended.

"Lady, I was trying to wake you up," Adam spoke.

"As Ridley put it, we were blacked out," Samus replied. "You can't wake someone up immediately after they black out like that."

"Well. As you were napping, I was searching for a plausible cause for this 'blackout'," Adam began. "The Krikens are known to have harnessed quite a few 'powers of the 'unknown'. I researched this, and found that they are fond of playing dirty tricks and never explaining to their victims how they did it. It appears they have built a machine called the Unakriktinor, which roughly translates to 'sleep-inducing wave'."

"So… they used that to get us here easier?" Samus asked.

"I don't know how else they could've forced every or most living creatures on the entire mothership into unconsciousness," Adam answered. "And it appears you are most wanted. I have hacked into the ship's surveillance system and found no other Kriken, carcass or otherwise, with the exception of Trace, anywhere else on this ship. I'd say it helps confirm the possibly new-founded alliance between the Galactic Federation and the Krikens."

"But why Krikens?" Samus wondered. "Why would the Federation treaty with these barbarians of all the species they could have chosen from?"

"I'd have to assume it would be because the Federation knows you are rather inexperienced with how the Krikens behave, and how they'd prove a worthy and extremely beneficial addition to the less-than-impressive army the Federation already boasted before this supposed alliance was forged," Adam suggested.

"Can you figure out how the Federation convinced the Krikens to side with them?" Samus asked Adam. She was now leaning her back against a cold, metal wall, with her arms crossed and two of her left hand's fingers gently resting on the temple of her helmet.

"That would be a negative, Samus. Ever since you retrieved the Safe Scan program and installed it as a plug-in to your Scan Visor, I have lost the ability to hack into the Federation's database, thus I became unable to read the file detailing their undoubtedly dirty deal with the Krikens, a file which is most likely documented within the restricted access directory," Adam sounded as if he knew this all for certain.

"How can you deduce all of that?" Samus asked.

"Simple. I have worked with the Federation for a very long time, Samus. At one point, I had authorization to access this directory, and some of the documents and other files within it were highly incriminating to the Federation," Adam admitted. "Unfortunately, with fear that I would eventually side with you after my personality was fully uploaded, they erased my memories of these specific documents."

"Oh," Samus simply replied. After a pause that lasted about fifteen seconds, Samus started up with a new subject. "What do you think Ridley is planning?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he wishes to attempt to beat Daiban's coordinates out of the Kriken Emperor, assuming this alliance we are estimating is, in fact, existent," Adam suggested.

"Yeah, but what are we going to do? Go to sudden war with the Krikens on their homeworld? It gives them the homefield advantage!" Samus pointed out. "Plus, from what I've heard, the Kriken Emperor isn't as naïve and uninformed as the Vhozon Emperor. He'll probably be off the planet before Ridley gets to him!"

"You make a valid point, Samus," Adam agreed. "But I am simply stating what I expect Ridley to plan out."

The intercom screeched, with Ridley's voice following it. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have a plan. What is that plan? To do what the Krikens want us to," he announced. "Just do what they say, but continue to follow my lead."

Samus was surprised to hear this. She contacted Ridley with her Radio Visor. "What the hell?" Samus asked, puzzled. "They'll just execute us!"

"No, they won't," Ridley responded in a serious tone. "The Krikens view an execution as punishment for the smallest crimes you can possibly commit. It's something the Emperor will sentence you to when he wishes to bestow mercy upon your soul."

"Then what's the worst form of punishment?" Samus asked, baffled.

"The worst they will do is sentence you to be a gladiator," Ridley spoke. "And from what I hear, that is extremely horrible."

"So we just… do what they say?" Samus wondered. She didn't sound very happy as she asked that question.

"_And_ follow my lead. Eventually, I will give a signal at just the right time. Upon receiving this signal, I want you and every other Space Pirate to start slaughtering these bastards," Ridley answered. Samus took a brief glance at the Metroids in the hangar.

"We should keep one or two soldiers here," Samus imperatively suggested.

"What for?" Ridley sounded as though he found the suggestion redundant.

"The Metroids," Samus calmly replied. "Keep one or two soldiers here in hiding. When we launch the attack, radio the signal to the soldiers. Tell the soldiers before we get off the ship to open the hangar door to let the Metroids loose when they receive the signal. Then, the Metroids could assist us in this little attack."

After a brief pause, Ridley said, "Good idea. But we'll need someone the Metroids somewhat trust to be the volunteer…"

"Weavel and I are the best options," Samus pointed out.

"Yes, but you need to come with us. The Krikens seem to want you the most, seeing as the only part of the ship with Kriken corpses seems to be in your hangar," Ridley added. "I'm going to go with Weavel. He will unleash the Metroids when he receives the signal, and I'll assign another soldier to release the army of Pyroculs we retrieved on Settlement Zero and bred. You'd be surprised how powerful just one is."

"I… have a pretty good idea," Samus said. "Anything else?"

"Er, yes. I want you to go to the weapons lab and retrieve a massive upgrade. We have been researching your beams and other features, and we have managed to create numerous upgrades," Ridley replied. "They will prove very useful against the Krikens."

Samus nodded, and the transmission, once again, ended. Samus left the hangar, and walked into the weapons lab. A scientist greeted her, and directed her to a machine that seemed to be built solely for her: the only input slot seemed perfectly shaped for her arm cannon. She inserted her arm cannon into the device, and felt herself upgrade, as Ridley put it, massively.

-PLASMA BEAM LEVEL 3 ACQUIRED. YOUR PLASMA BEAM AND ITS MELEE VARIANT ARE NOW EVEN STRONGER.-

-ACID BEAM LEVEL 3 ACQUIRED. YOUR ACID BEAM AND ITS MELEE VARIANT ARE NOW EVEN STRONGER.-

-ACID WHIP ACQUIRED. USE IT TO CUT THROUGH ENEMIES WITH EXTREME EFFICIENCY. ALSO CAN BE SWUNG TO KILL MULTIPLE ENEMIES IN A SINGLE SWING.-

-GRAPPLING BEAM ACQUIRED. GRAPPLE ONTO CERTAIN NODES TO SWING ACROSS OTHERWISE IMPOSSIBLE GAPS.-

-ICE SCYTHE ACQUIRED. USE IT TO CUT THROUGH ENEMIES OR STAB IT INTO A ROUNDED LEDGE TO HANG ON.-

"Why no Ice Beam Level 3?" Samus asked the scientist.

"What would be the point? All the Ice Beam does is freeze stuff," the scientist replied. Samus thanked the scientist and entered the room Ridley was in after walking down multiple halls to find it.

"I told Weavel and another soldier about what to do," he said, not facing Samus.

"I'm ready to go out there," Samus said to Ridley. He turned to look at Samus.

"Good," he replied.

About ten minutes later, while Ridley was still rounding up troops to walk out, a loud banging sound echoed repeatedly from the ship's exit door. Ridley halted what he was doing and walked up to the door, ready to speak through it. He yelled "What?" in the Krikens' language, to which the guard on the other side said "Open the door!" in the same language. Ridley turned to the line of Space Pirates behind him. Each of them saluted synchronically. Ridley looked back at the door and opened it. As soon as the bulky, heavily armored Kriken guards saw the line of Space Pirates, they stood at either side of the ramp which extended to the tan ground below. The Space Pirates began to march out. After approximately fifty Pirates walked out, Ridley stepped out. The two guards held their spears in front of Ridley, as if to halt him.

"No more?" one guard asked. It spoke English, but like the Vhozon Emperor, had a thick, native accent.

"No more," Ridley responded grimly. This was a fib; originally, Ridley planned to get all of the Space Pirates on the mothership out of it, but he ultimately decided to not take the dangerous risk of losing many hard-working scientists.

Ridley stepped forward, but the spears remained in his way.

"Where is Samus?" the same guard demanded. "Trace said you have Samus with you."

"She will be out here in a few moments," Ridley assured calmly. "Be patient."

"No!" the guard snapped. "We will _not_ be patient with you! You are a criminal!"

"Ah, hypocritical guards are certainly _fun_ to argue with," Ridley spoke sarcastically. He was surprised not to receive a hiss from the guard, but then considered that the guard's English might have been limited. It might have not understood the word "hypocritical".

The two guards slipped past Ridley and into the mothership. Ridley sighed. After about sixty seconds, he watched as the two guards, each holding one of Samus's arms, threw her down the ramp. In response to this, Samus morphed into her Morph Ball form to suppress the pain of frequently flipping backwards down a slope. Once she hit the light brown stone which made up much of the Kriken homeworld's surface, Samus unmorphed. She stood up, with a Kriken staring at her. Samus could never tell when a Kriken was glaring at her, as they always had no expression on their face; after all, their heads were simply red-colored raindrops with a single, miniscule eye which looked like a jewel, levitating slightly over the creature's body with no neck in between. Why they had no neck, and how they could speak at all, were mysteries no one has solved yet.

"O Hiera wishes to meet you," the guard staring at Samus spoke. As with the other guard whom Ridley spoke with, this guard had a thick accent. Samus nodded, and the guard gripped her right shoulder and pushed her away, towards a door sitting on a rocky overhang which had a ramp leading up to it. The door was brightly illuminated by a lantern sitting above it.

"You all, stay!" another guard said to the Space Pirates as they marched behind Samus. Upon hearing this, the Pirates halted. Samus walked up the ramp onto the rocky overhang with the door. Before she stepped through the doorway, the guard behind her commanded her to halt and turn around. Samus did so. She saw the group of Space Pirates in the distance being directed in the opposite direction by other guards on the surface, with Ridley towering above them as he followed. Samus soon felt her arms get tied together behind her back.

"What is this, rope?" she asked, sounding unimpressed.

"Shut up!" the guard in front of her barked. After the final knot was tied, Samus was directed through the doorway.

Inside the corridor was absolute darkness. Samus could see nothing through her standard Combat Visor, but found no reason to switch to her Scan Visor, which would have given her small hints as to the shape of the corridor. Judging by the way the guards were directing her, she knew she was in a hallway. This was evidenced by how long she spent walking in a single direction at a time before turning or entering another corridor, and how her footsteps and the guards' did not echo, ruling out that she was walking through a large room with a high ceiling and walls stretched far apart.

Samus immediately understood the blackness: it was a tactic for depriving prisoners of the ability to see anything, while the guards could maneuver through the corridors with little effort, seeing as their vision is infrared. This way, the prisoners could not see what goes on in between where they arrived and their destination. It made perfect sense: the stone floor was colder than ice, so Samus could infer that the walls were much the same. As such, the Krikens could see the floors and wall pop up as blue in their vision, as it is something where heat is practically nonexistent.

After at least ten minutes of just walking, Samus felt herself being forcefully pushed into a room. She fell over and began to roll a bit, but she was unable to morph since her arms were bound together by rope. She heard the guards hiss at her one last time, and then heard a door shut. She was alone. In a prison cell? Perhaps… but she remembered one of the guards stating that some "O Hiera" character wanted to speak with her… assuming, of course, the guard knew English well enough to understand just what he was saying. For all Samus knew, the guard may have thought he said "You're a prisoner now. Enjoy your eternal stay." At this point, it was impossible to infer anything in that regard.

Perhaps she was in a holding cell? Like where criminals are put before they are dragged out for interrogation, or to be tried, or to await their inevitable punishment. That was the kind of system humans used to do in ancient times, before the year 0 Anno Domini. Even after then, they followed that system. But not anymore. Then Samus remembered she wasn't in a human prison.

Suddenly, a light flickered on from behind Samus; a light which encompassed the entire room, but very dimly. Much like an old theater when movies were playing.

"I am over here, Samus," a crackling voice that could only belong to a Kriken thundered. Yet, despite the clear indications that a Kriken's voice was heard, it sounded much more formal. The audio system within the room meant to convey the voice speaking was extremely loud, but it was obvious the Kriken was not overzealously screaming at Samus. "Flip over and face me."

Samus rolled herself over to face the light. Sure enough, it was a large screen spanning an entire wall made of natural stone. It was exactly like being in an old movie theater, as Samus previously compared it.

"Don't speak. Just listen," the Kriken said sinisterly. The Kriken was clearly not Trace, as Samus deduced upon hearing the different voice accompanying this character. This Kriken was dressed in finely crafted armor, with plenty of jewels spanning the edges of the creature's worn apparel. Due to the overall royal appearance of the Kriken, Samus estimated that this particular Kriken, this "O Hiera" as the guard called it, was in fact the Kriken Emperor. "I received a nice proposition from your former boss's boss's boss's boss. That's correct. Chairman Vogl. He told me that if we terminate you, he will erase our name from the Galactic Federation's most wanted list."

"So why didn't you have your guards just quarter me as soon as they got a hold of me?" Samus spat. The Kriken Emperor roared. Samus saw the anger flare in the being's single eye.

"Don't speak!" the Emperor barked. "As you know, we Krikens are not fond of simply killing our prey… we prefer to, as you humans say, play with our food first. Metaphorically speaking, of course. We aren't going to eat you, but rather… we are going to use you as entertainment."

Samus did not allow the dirty thought to pass her mind. She knew the Emperor was talking about making her a gladiator.

"As for your new allies, well… we haven't decided what we would do to them quite yet, but they will not be joining you in the coliseum," the Emperor sadistically spoke. Samus remained silent. "Samus, you must understand that I am not as naïve as the rest of my race may force you to stereotype me by. You and I both know that you are entirely capable of cutting that pathetic rope which binds your wrists together with one of your doohickeys my guards were too stupid to attempt to remove from you. You can untie that knot with your left hand and free yourself right here and right now. Yet, you don't. Why not, Samus? Are you waiting for something? Perhaps, a _signal_ of sorts?"

Samus's eyes widened. The Emperor chuckled with a sinister undertone to it, and the laugh was borderline maniacal.

"I know you're just playing along, waiting for something in particular so that you can cut yourself free and pound our species with your wrath like you have done to numerous others," the Kriken chuckled again. "And do you know how we will combat this little method I know you are planning to administer? It's quite simple, really. I will set the queue aside and put you in front, so that you will be instantly forced into the coliseum. You will have a partner accompany you, but it will certainly not be someone of your choice."

As soon as this was said, four Kriken guards ran into the room, each grabbing one of Samus's limbs and carrying her out of the room. As she left, she could hear the evil and sadistic laughter of the Kriken Emperor. Samus did not fight back. Normally by now, she would have. If she was still under the orders of the Federation, she would have been working herself up to killing the Emperor and likely be making serious progress along the way. The one reason she stayed put and followed Ridley's orders was that she knew Ridley was a mastermind. He knew what he was doing. He plans this stuff out frequently in numerous different situations to boot. The Federation simply improvised objectives after something screws them over. They were opportunists.

Fifteen minutes later, Samus was thrown again into a room that was, of course, dark. She felt the rope snap from force, implying that a guard set her free, but Samus heard the door close behind the guards as they left the room. After the loud _THUD!_ sound the door made, Samus noted that something was glowing in the room. Something radiated an orange color from multiple different locations. She simply stared at it, without even considering scanning it.

"Come closer, so I can see you," a voice spoke. It was a deep, low-pitched voice that seemed to be trapped in a permanent state of depression. Samus noted that the voice originated from the glowing thing in the room. She stood up, and walked closer to it. Now, Samus switched to her Scan Visor, and was surprised when she saw that it was a scan already present in her logbook. She scanned it, and rather than the Scan Visor taking five seconds to scan it, the logbook entry immediately popped up on her heads-up display and revealed what she was looking at in complete darkness.

_Spire._


	16. The Coliseum

**Chapter Sixteen: The Coliseum**

"Spire?" Samus said. She sounded surprised. Surprised to see another old rival bounty hunter she met in the Alimbic Expedition. She remembered Spire as a quiet hunter to simply wanted to get the job done. Never once did he speak. He once attacked Samus because he knew she had Octoliths in her possession. But Samus learned that his ultimate intentions were justified—he was desperate for answers regarding the fate of the rest of his species. His species—named the Diamonts—was characterized by being simply a bunch of boulders thrown together to establish a humanoid appearance overall, with multiple orange glowing spikes protruding from this body.

"Closer. You must be close so my glowing spikes can show you," Spire spoke. Based on the sad undertone of Spire's voice, Samus fell under the impression that he was not very lucky in finding information on his lost race—or perhaps the truth was horrible provided he found it. Either way, Samus empathized with him and stepped closer. She was now standing directly in front of him. Oddly but not quite surprisingly, he was unsure of Samus. "What is your name?"

Spire's eyes dimly glowed with a deep orange color as Samus stood in front of him. Samus immediately considered that either Spire's memory was short-term, or perhaps her new appearance coupled with a new color style threw him off.

"Samus Aran," Samus responded. "Spire, you and I met in the Alimbic Cluster—"

"I _know_ where we met. I simply did not know who you were at first," Spire interrupted. "At least your name explains how you knew mine."

Samus felt compelled to ask Spire how his search was going, but felt that asking something like that would be extremely rude. After all, would Samus be comfortable if Spire asked what happened to her as a child on K-2L?

"To be frank, I am happy to see you," Spire admitted. Though his comment was cheerful, his tone was not. "You are the only hunter I have met in the Alimbic Cluster whom I do not sport a grudge against to this day…"

"I actually felt the exact same way when I saw who you were," Samus said. Desperation was what fueled Spire, and Samus could not blame him for this. "You and Noxus were the only two hunters I could forgive for attacking me, when I consider his motives as well as yours."

"Ah, yes. I forgot about Noxus," Spire said. Though the sad undertone remained, Samus could hear a hint of joyful reminiscence in his voice. "Fierce and deadly fellow, while at the same time honest and respectful. How is he these days?"

Samus paused for five seconds before speaking. "Uh… well, I haven't seen him since then, much like yourself."

"How are the other hunters?" Spire wondered. After a brief pause, he added, "Not counting Trace. I know exactly how well he is doing. He is why I am here."

"Same for me," Samus said, regarding Trace. She thought before she spoke. She considered not giving away her allegiance to the Space Pirates, as she then may lose Spire's trust. So, she remained very neutral in her standpoint as she described the state of the different hunters she has seen since the Expedition fifteen years ago. "Weavel is the same… just a part of the Space Pirates as he always was. Sylux is currently in the captivity of the Space Pirates, but I don't know what he is being used for. And Kanden… I don't know what happened to him. Have you seen him lately?"

"The last time I saw him was seven years ago, about the halfway point in time between the Alimbic Expedition and now," Spire said somewhat quietly. "And he was killed. By me."

Samus's eyes widened. She remembered Kanden as a near-unstoppable warrior built to be just that—an unstoppable warrior. He was an experiment gone wrong. Kanden, despite the clear resemblance to multiple different hominid species, it was also clear that he was a freak of nature with no sanity. If the Federation was to ever capture him, he would be sent to the local sanitarium and be locked up in the most secure room they had, as opposed to being sent to a prison, where he'd likely escape and kill everyone in the process.

With all of that said, however, Samus was not trying to make it difficult to imagine that Spire killed Kanden. It was perfectly believable. Samus was now more curious as to how and why Spire killed this monstrosity—even though she knew she would do the same if such a chance had arisen.

"What happened?" Samus simply asked. Like Spire, Samus was sitting on a stone bench, albeit on the one across from Spire.

"He told me he was hunting for every hunter whom participated in the Alimbic Expedition," Spire answered. "He found me first, and told me his plans as though he was so arrogant as to assume he would win in a fight. And I will be honest: he almost did win. But I won in one of the most stupid and obvious ways you could possibly imagine. I was on the floor, about to receive a killing blow from his Stinglarva alternate form, which was newly equipped with deadlier explosives. But then I swung this big stone for a left hand,"—as Spire said this, he raised his left hand, reminding Samus of how he had a large boulder for it—"and I literally crushed him. His guts were splattered everywhere when I was done with him. I can't believe I defeated him so easily."

"Did he explain _why_ he wanted to kill all of the hunters?" Samus asked.

"This is Kanden we are speaking of, Samus," Spire pointed out. "You know even better than me that he was beyond insanity."

Samus simply agreed. There was a brief pause. Suddenly, Adam spoke aloud.

"Amazing… the last Diamont alive…" he said. Upon hearing his voice, Spire seemed to be alerted.

"Who was that?" Spire thundered. As with the Kriken Emperor before, Spire wasn't yelling, but he sounded very loud, albeit for different reasons. Samus could see Spire's eyes looking back and forth, left and right, as if he was trying to physically see who was speaking. "Is there someone else in here?"

"Physically, no," Samus answered. "You're hearing the voice of Adam Malkovich, my former CO who died in a tragic situation… just about a week ago, shortly before I forced the Biologic Space Laboratories, or BSL Station, to crash into planet SR388, I learned that the Federation was working to restore Adam's personality into a computer I had to deal with during my time at the station. The process was complete by the time I finished it. He was essentially the mind of my former rental ship."

"And now I am something of a virus infecting an entry in her logbook," Adam added. "But do not worry; I am benign."

"Eh… anything having to do with a computer confuses me," Spire admitted. "I grew up with simplified scientific concepts. Our race was simple, and so our technology was as well."

"I am terribly sorry about what happened to your species," Adam started. "I'm sure Samus can relate—"

"Adam…" Samus interrupted. "While I certainly can relate, it is very disrespectful to bring up something traumatizing to the person you are speaking to."

"No…" Spire said. "Samus, if your childhood stories are true, then I have to admit that your stories are more tragic than mine. You deserve to hear what I have learned of the fate of my species…"

"Stories?" Samus was puzzled. "My stories are public?"

Although the way she asked the question implied that she was talking to Adam, Spire answered instead. "Not the specific ones," he assured. "But who doesn't know that the galaxy's greatest bounty hunter lived through one of the most tragic incidents in history as a young child? It's the stuff of public media."

"Good point…" Samus agreed.

"Anyway, as for what happened to my species," Spire started. "It should be noted that about five years ago, I traveled to Mondreus to see if any survivors were present but simply in hiding. When I went there, I found that the Krikens took it over. That is how I came to be here. I've been waiting in the Kriken's queue for five years, simply waiting to become their tool of entertainment. But I have visited once before, between the expedition and now. I went there immediately after the expedition. That is when I saw the truth…"

Spire paused for a moment. Samus did not speak and simply waited.

"As for what happened to my species…" Spire sighed. "They were killed. Mercilessly. By no one other than the Galactic Federation."

Samus's eyes widened. She was absolutely surprised, but at the same time, she felt as though she saw it coming.

"You cannot prove that, I am sure," Adam called Spire out.

"At this point? Of course I cannot. I'm being held prisoner by the Krikens, helpless and isolated from the rest of the galaxy. If I was to enter an official galactic trial right now, not only would the Federation deny it among the public, but I'd be left with no proper evidence and they would likely imprison me for falsely accusing authority or something," Spire snapped at Adam. "But I have seen it. A Federation base was being built far away from where I lived. I do not know why they spared me, but I can assume that they simply did not see me."

"Why would they kill your species?" Samus asked. Spire sighed again.

"I can't know for sure. I am in little to no position to assume anything beyond what I know and what I saw," he answered. "What I saw is a pile of my species stacked at least fifty feet high. This was hundreds of miles away from my previous home. They were all dead. If they weren't dead, they were soon to be, since about three Federation troopers were swinging their pickaxes at the supposed corpses, and loading the orange rock they mined from our bodies onto a truck. I sneaked by them to a nearby cliff, and saw a Federation base being built at the base of the cliff."

"They wanted the orange rock which comes from your species?" Samus asked. Spire shrugged; this was evident when Samus saw the two orange spikes jutting out of either of Spire's shoulders shift up a bit for a few seconds, then shift back.

"That's what I could gather," Spire said.

"Which… which planet did you say you were from?" Adam asked.

"Mondreus."

"Holy shit. Fifteen years ago, the Federation stated that they were sending a squadron to make a base on Mondreus in order to exterminate what they called a threat to the galaxy," Adam revealed. Samus saw it: Spire's eyes widened, then narrowed. "They called your species a threat to make it sound justified to those back on Daiban, myself included, when they were really killing innocents to obtain a rare orange rock, which could sell for potentially tens of millions a pound… it explains how the Federation's stocks skyrocketed the day after the squadron returned. It all makes sense now…"

"Spire, I can understand the hate you have against Adam for being a part of the Federation you grudge," Samus tried to calm Spire down. He sounded like he was going to roar angrily and attack. "But you have to understand that Adam never delved very deep into the Federation's corruption. Even then, he only _was_ a part of the Federation. He recently quit unofficially in order to help me out."

Spire suddenly calmed down. "He is there… to help you out?" he asked. "With what, exactly?"

"I was under the Federation's hire many times before. About a week ago, I disobeyed the Federation by destroying three things at once: SR388, the BSL Station, and the X Parasite altogether. As a result, the Federation has placed me at the top of their most wanted list, viewing me as a dangerous threat even worse than the Space Pirates. And just recently, I was convinced—and I still am convinced—that the Federation is the villainous organization, and that my perceptions of the good guys and bad guys was mixed up. Those perceptions always have been," Samus answered.

"So… you are an enemy of the Galactic Federation?" Spire asked, slightly confused.

"That is correct," Samus replied. She was slightly reluctant to speak of her new allegiance, but figured Spire held no grudge against them. "And I am now a Space Pirate."

"Much to my disgust…" Adam mumbled under his virtual breath.

Spire was silent. He stared at Samus for as long as thirty seconds, then looked down. Samus watched his glowing eyes as they sank below. Spire then looked back up at Samus.

"If my left hand was more than a large boulder, I would hold it out to you so that we could shake," Spire spoke softly, in his deep, slow, still-depressed voice. "I will be happy to fight alongside you in the dreadful coliseum, Samus."

Samus felt herself smile a bit. She had gained a new ally. Suddenly, four guards violently opened the door, with two grabbing Samus by either arm, and the other two grabbing Spire by either arm. They hissed before they even touched either one of them. The guards did not speak at all, but it was clear that they were going to take crap from neither Samus nor Spire, evidenced by their crude nature when handling them.

The guards were violently shoving both Samus and Spire as they directed them through several hallways and corridors, and they pushed both of them at a large gate which stood at least one hundred fifty feet tall. The guards threatened the two by pushing them up to the gate with their spears poking at the backs of Samus and Spire's heads. Through the gate, Samus could hear the deafening screeching of Krikens directly outside. It sounded as if there were thousands of them. There probably were.

Soon, Samus heard a familiar voice speaking in its formal accent, though it spoke in Kriken words. The voice echoed loudly as it shouted. Despite the guards threateningly holding Samus and Spire to the tall gate, Spire spoke to Samus.

"If you'd like, I will translate what he says. Over five years of waiting in the queue, I have become fluent in the native Kriken language and its many dialects," Spire offered. Surprisingly, the guards did not respond harshly to Spire's talking.

"Yeah, sounds good," Samus accepted, sounding a bit stressed, probably due to the spear gently pressing against her head. As the loud voice spoke, Spire translated.

"We are here today to witness two proven warriors demonstrate their skills in combat against increasingly unfavorable odds," Spire translated. "This week will be the week remembered by this event, which will prove to be considerably more interesting than your typical coliseum tournament, which I am certain many of you come to watch every week."

Samus did not like the sound of "increasingly unfavorable odds". It was fairly obvious that this meant increasingly _favorable_ odds for the Kriken soldiers they were bound to fight.

"Will they succeed?" Spire translated. Before the voice spoke again to allow Spire to translate, it chuckled sinisterly. "Who gives a damn? This is entertainment!"

Samus waited for the call the voice would make to open the gate and send Spire and her out there. Spire then translated, "Allow me to introduce you all to our challengers: Galactic fugitive Samus Aran, and Spire, the last Diamont!"

The gate flew open, and the guards pushed Samus and Spire out into the coliseum's arena. The coliseum was about five-hundred yards long, seventy-five yards wide, and about two-hundred yards tall. As Samus and Spire came out, and while they were recovering from being shoved, the Krikens sitting in the high-up bleachers outlining the coliseum were shouting. What they were saying was indeterminable since so many conflicting screeches, hisses, and shouts were echoing across the wide open space. It was blatantly clear, however, that the Krikens were expressing their extreme disgust simply because Samus and Spire were not the "home" team. Samus looked straight ahead, and tilted her head to look at where the voice came from. As she already knew from hearing the voice, it was O Hiera, who she assumed was the Kriken Emperor. He was far out of reach. Spire leaned over to whisper to Samus.

"That is Emperor Gyrion, the nastiest ruler you will ever come to meet," he quietly said. He leaned enough to where Samus could hear him whisper, but not enough to where Emperor Gyrion would notice that he was whispering to Samus.

Emperor Gyrion began to speak again, in which Spire followed in translating.

"And now, for our side of the fight," Spire interpreted. The gate underneath Gyrion across from Samus and Spire opened as well, and about twenty Kriken soldiers, each heavily armored and complete with both spears and stolen Galactic Federation weapons. As the soldiers marched in an unsynchronized fashion, the audience comprised of solely Krikens cheered in joy. The obnoxious sound beat against Samus's eardrums, but Spire seemed unharmed. Samus assumed it was either because five years of waiting in "the queue" overexposed him to the noise and he got used to it, or Diamonts simply could not react to sounds. Soon, Spire translated the last line Gyrion would say for a while: "Let the games commence!"

As soon as Gyrion spat that phrase, the soldiers started to run across the five-hundred yard long coliseum, emitting horrid war cries as they charged. Many stopped at the half-way point and began shooting. The firearms about half of the soldiers had were laser rifles, automatic energy-shooting machine guns, and of course the inevitable Kriken signature weapon, the Imperialist. Every weapon they had, with the exception of the Imperialist, must have been either stolen or purchased from the Galactic Federation; or perhaps the Federation gave these weapons to them. Samus did not know.

Samus wanted to camouflage and fire Acid Beam shots at these creatures, but she then remembered that Krikens see infrared only unless they were surgically enhanced. Samus switched to her Plasma Beam, and fired a charged shot at one of the soldiers. On contact, the soldier was vaporized.

"Did you just steal my shtick?" Spire asked as he readied his Magmaul.

"Mine doesn't stick," Samus responded. She looked back at the army and switched to her Ice Scythe, which resulted in a block of ice being created by her Ice Beam sticking out of her arm cannon and forming into the nasty shape of a scythe. She did this because she noticed Spire was primarily attacking the ranged weapon-using soldiers, so Samus would combat the spear-wielding ones.

Samus swung the scythe at a soldier, and created a fatal cut in its exoskeleton. Despite the fact that the scythe only dented the creature's armor, it would bleed out in all of a minute due to the dirty yellow guts spurting out of where its exoskeleton was ruptured. Somewhat unimpressed with how the Ice Scythe was unable to rupture the armor at all, Samus switched to her Plasma Sword. Suddenly, Adam butted in.

"Lady, their armor seems to be made of an alloy too strong to be cut through," he said. "Remember what weapon of yours disintegrates certain metal alloys?"

Samus immediately got the hint, and switched to the Acid Whip instead. A large amount of brown acid shot out of her cannon, and it took the shape of a whip. Somehow, it remained suspended in that shape whilst retaining flexibility. Samus charged at a spear-wielding soldier and cracked the whip. The whip made a large cut in where it hit the soldier, regardless of if the area was armored or not, and the soldier started to screech as it began to disintegrate. Samus dashed at another one, trying out the whip yet again. The same result. After about two minutes, Samus was finished with the melee-wielding soldiers as Spire was finished with the ranged ones. They were all dead. After a brief moment of awkward silence, the crowd started to cheer to show their disgust once more, but Gyrion interrupted them.

"Do not belittle them," Spire translated. "You all have to admit, that was fairly impressive, no?"

The crowd began to applaud lightly. It seemed only Gyrion was truly impressed.

"You have beaten the first wave," Spire interpreted. "Now you must handle the second. And it will not be easy."

Samus looked up at the crimson sky as she heard a whistle coming from it. Soon, the whistle became a hiss, and a strange foreign creature complete with wings and orange skin came crashing down from the sky as it landed gracefully after a rough fall. Riding on this creature was a Kriken soldier which was even more heavily armored than the previous twenty Samus and Spire just recently fought. Suddenly, another one fell from the sky and landed behind Samus, causing her to turn around and glance at it.

"You get one of them, and I'll get the other?" Samus suggested. Spire agreed. While the bird-like creatures were stalling by circling Samus and Spire, Samus switched to her Scan Visor and took a quick scan.

"_A new __**[Creatures] **__entry has been added to your logbook. Morphology: Krikionis. A fierce pseudo-avian predator native to the Kriken homeworld. They are fond of spitting at their prey with a pH 14 basic compound. This compound is extremely deadly and is commonly utilized by the Krikens as a neurotoxin. The only people known to successfully tame these beasts are the Krikens."_

Samus watched as the creature's mouth began to foam, much akin to a symptom of the Old World disease known as rabies. She was prepared for it to spit.

"You know to avoid the spit, right?" Samus asked Spire.

"Yeah, I know," Spire replied. "I've seen how these things work. One thing to note, Samus: they are mentally dependent on their rider. If you kill the rider, the beast will fly away and drop itself in mid-air, causing it to die from a hard fall."

"Good to know," Samus said. After about another minute of stalling, Spire spoke.

"What are you waiting for?" he called out in the Kriken language. This caused the riders to command the beasts to spit at Samus and Spire. Samus jumped out of the way, as Spire transformed into the Dialanche form he used often during the Alimbic Expedition; it was essentially his Morph Ball form. He quickly rolled away, and then unmorphed. Spire followed up with a Magmaul shot, which hit one of the riders directly. With the flaming ammunition burning at the soldier's exoskeleton, it began to freak out in pain. As a result, the beast did as well. At one point, the beast jumped up, and twisted its head the wrong way as it came back down. The beast hit the ground with its head underneath its belly, twisting and promptly snapping its own neck. The rider roared viciously as it jumped off of the saddle of the deceased Krikionis. Spire quickly shot another Magmaul bullet at the rider, this time charged, which caused the rider to roar in extreme pain. Without a second thought, Spire ran up to the burning rider and crushed its head with his enormous left hand.

After Spire finished the creature off, he watched Samus as she took on the other one. Samus rolled into Morph Ball and rolled underneath the Krikionis's stomach. She laid a Power Bomb, which forced the creature to go insane with rage, presumably from the bright light. Before the actual explosion occurred, the rider jumped off of the Krikionis and started to run away from Samus and Spire. Samus unmorphed and ran at the rider, gradually increasing in speed. Krikens were fast, faster than the average human, but Samus had the Speed Booster to boot. Eventually, Samus caught fire and began to flash orange and red as she sped up and knocked the Kriken rider directly over. She stopped Speed Boosting, and turned around to finish the down-but-not-out rider, and stabbed it in the head with her Plasma Sword.

Another awkward pause. Spire and Samus waited for the inevitable "boo"-ing, but were surprised when the audience began to cheer.

_Easy crowd to please,_ Samus thought. _Two rounds, and they're already on our side._

Emperor Gyrion spoke. "One moment, please," Spire translated. Samus looked up at the stand in which Emperor Gyrion sat. Her eyes widened when she saw a Federation escort ship, as well as a Federation general speaking to Gyrion.

In the Emperor's stands, Gyrion spoke to Federation Admiral Castor Dane. Whilst Samus could not make out who it was from her distance, she would remember him as an admiral she worked with when going on her campaign to destroy Phazon for good.

"I am here to send you a message, Emperor Gyrion," Dane spoke. He pulled out a piece of paper. "This is from Chairman Vogl."

Gyrion sighed. "What is it?" he asked. "I'm in the middle of a beautiful coliseum tournament."

"He wants to know your progress with Samus Aran," Dane summarized from the letter. He put the letter back in his coat's pocket.

"Captured," Gyrion said grimly.

"The Chairman wants us to finish her off, unless you are already in the process of doing so," Dane read. He looked back up at Emperor Gyrion, as the emperor was staring at Dane coldly with his single eye. Gyrion, at first without saying anything, pointed down at the pit of the coliseum. Dane averted his eyes to look at where Gyrion was pointing.

"Ah, I see. You wish to finish this tournament before you execute her. Well, we can wait," Dane assumed. Gyrion put his right hand to his face and sighed.

"Do you not see her?" Gyrion shouted, at a level low enough to not echo across the coliseum. He pointed back at Samus and Spire, who, to Dane, looked like little specks. It was no surprise that Dane could not recognize Samus; after all, she was wearing the Space Pirate Suit, which boasted colors that could throw anyone off if they were not close enough to perform a close inspection. "She's right there!"

Dane shook his head, which prompted a Federation trooper to pull out a set of binoculars and examine the two small specks. After about ten seconds, the trooper lowered the binoculars and looked at Dane, subsequently nodding.

"Who or what is the other speck out there?" Dane demanded, looking back at Gyrion. Gyrion took a quick glance at the dot standing next to Samus, who also appeared as a dot. He then looked back at Dane.

"Him? He's not important," Gyrion spat. He then spoke to two nearby Kriken guards in the native Kriken tongue, commanding them to remove Spire from the arena.

"What are you doing?" Dane asked.

"Well, we wouldn't want Samus to have any help, now would we?" Gyrion said sinisterly.

"O Hiera, sir, to be honest, you are pushing the Chairman's patience as well as my own," Dane said to Emperor Gyrion. "Please, just kill her right here and right now."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Mr. Dane," Gyrion said, facing Samus and Spire. He watched as two guards came out from behind the two dots, appearing as dots themselves, and gripping Spire by the arms. They yanked Spire away, in which he surprisingly did not fight back. Samus simply stood there; almost as if Spire told her not to try and help him.

"And why not?" Dane demanded. Gyrion turned his raindrop-shaped head to face Dane.

"Because, I assure you, Samus will _not_ survive the next round," Gyrion growled. "If you want her dead so badly, then I will skip all of the silliness and simply send out the best I have."

Gyrion turned to another group of guards, and told them, in Kriken, to "unleash God and Satan himself". The guards left the balcony to do Gyrion's bidding. Without facing Dane, Gyrion said, "You are welcome to watch Samus get mauled, if you wish."

"Yes, I'll stay," Dane said to Gyrion. "Just so I can ensure that you got her killed."

Gyrion stood up, and raised his arms up, as if cheerful to announce to the audience. First, he announced it in Kriken, but then he yelled in English.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Samus," Gyrion called. "I forgot, I had my men take away your only interpreter, didn't I? Well, I will translate for you from now on. Samus Aran, prepare to fight the ultimate creature, the creature who is our God and our Satan, the Krikis! And you will not be assisted."

Dane's eyes widened; the Krikis was only spoken about in stories about the Krikens. But he had absolutely no idea it was real.

About thirty seconds later, Samus could hear the rhythmic crashing of a large creature's footstep repeat over and over. Strong vibrations accompanied the crashing noise; something large was approaching. Samus soon saw bright yellow eyes shining in the darkness that hid behind the gate across the arena from her, and each eye must have been at least three times her size. The creature then roared loudly, so loud that Samus covered her suit's audio receptors even from five-hundred yards away.

"Let the final round begin!" Gyrion called, first in Kriken, then in English. Upon finishing his English translation, an enormous creature with a reptilian-like head crashed through the gate, shattering the thick brown metal which the gate was composed of. The monster must have stood at least one-hundred fifty yards tall, and it sported two legs. It had four large, alien-like eyes with two forked tongues and nasty, uneven teeth. Its entire skin was veiny and disgusting.

It roared as it destroyed the gate, charging at Samus at full speed. The enormous creature was fast; Samus had to dodge the creature immediately to avoid, because if she did not, she would easily be crushed and therefore killed. The creature, with its head temporarily stuck in the wall, screeched loudly. It was a screech that proved to be far more obnoxious than that of a Kriken crowd's. Being closer to Samus than it was when it initially screeched, the noise hit her much harder. Struggling against the powerful vibrations that accompanied the monster's roar, Samus switched to her Scan Visor and took a quick scan.

"_A new __**[Creatures]**__ entry has been added to your Logbook. Morphology: The Krikis. The Krikis is an enormous creature of extreme size, girth, speed, and sheer power. Due to this species being exceedingly rare, coupled with its utter power and ability to instill fear with something as simple as a glance, the Krikis is revered by Krikens as both the Holy Creator as well as the Satanic Destroyer. Similar to the Krikionis, the Krikis spits a basic compound which is highly toxic. It also appears to have a basic compound serve as mucus lining the inside of its throat."_

The Krikis raised its head, and bellowed once more, this time looking up as it did so. It quickly lowered its head and spat the aforementioned compound at Samus. Samus side-rolled out of the way in the nick of time, and noticed six strange nodes sitting next to its spine; there were three on either side of the spine.

"Adam, can you pinpoint what those nodes are for?" Samus asked. After a short time, Adam responded.

"They appear to be the creature's 'spit sacs', much like how certain species of snakes have venom sacs," Adam answered. "If you can puncture them and fire a charged Acid Beam shot into the basic compound within, the result will, at first, be rather explosive. This is because the Acid Beam has a pH of 0 whilst the basic compound has a pH of 14. If they clash, then after a brief shock, the ultimate result will be a balanced compound with a pH of exactly 7; in other words, pure water."

"And I can use the veins to climb the beast's leg in order to get up there," Samus said, almost as if suggesting this.

"The creature will receive damage with each node being destroyed, and if you force all six nodes to contain only water, it will no longer be able to spit this toxic base compound," Adam added. "I doubt it would kill the beast, but it would deliver a nasty blow. Just be careful, Samus. I am analyzing the creature's neck's skeletal structure, and it appears to be adapted to twisting its neck to bite its legs, almost as if this were a defense mechanism of sorts."

"So then I go up the tail," Samus spoke.

"I wouldn't suggest it. The creature's tail is extremely flexible and whip-like, so it would likely throw you off within seconds of grabbing on," Adam pointed out.

"Then what the hell do I do?" Samus asked, beginning to become nervous. The creature attempted to stomp on Samus, but she sidestepped out of the way.

"I wonder what those small features jutting out of its underside are for…" Adam spoke, almost as if he was speaking in a riddle. An idea clicked into Samus's mind, but she then tried to imagine how it would work. She planned to use her newly-acquired Grapple Beam to grapple onto these features and grab onto the creature's neck, then jump onto its back from there after some climbing. But wouldn't it be able to swallow her if she tried that? Plus, the features were extremely high, so Samus knew the Grapple Beam could not reach them from the ground. She was out of ideas.

_What to do now? _Samus thought.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** **No, despite what this chapter may imply, there is **_**not **_**a romance developing between Spire and Samus. It should be noted that I will **_**never**_** attempt a romance in any story I write, because I simply cannot do them correctly, coupled with the fact that I support no shipping in any fandom whatsoever, also coupled with the fact that I find romance extremely boring (no offense to those of you who like it; that's just my personal opinion). So those of you who thought that kind of crap was going to happen… get your head out of the gutter!**


	17. The Krikis

**Chapter Seventeen: The Krikis**

After wondering how she would exterminate this monster, she noted that its legs were flatter in design than the rest of its enormous body. She inferred that she could, perhaps, wall-jump her way up one leg, and try to grapple from there. If that does not work, then she'd have to hope to make contact with the other leg to wall-jump even higher, and try again. This method could work, provided the creature moves slowly. But it was also one of the more risky ways to get up to the grappling features, as it could easily crush Samus with little effort.

Samus dashed at the monster, and quickly hopped upward onto the side of its leg. She began to slide down at a steady rate, but before she slid down too far, she jumped gracefully to slide on the other leg. She would successfully jump between the two legs for about another ten seconds, before the creature bent its neck in the most uncomfortable-looking way possible, and snapped at her. Luckily, its mouth did not ensnare Samus; the creature's large snout pushed her away. Samus hit the dusty, tan ground, and quickly stood back up.

"Clearly that will not work," Adam pointed out. The creature roared loudly again, and Samus felt the push of the strong wind that accompanied the roar almost knock her over. Samus saw a large, green glob of fluid launch at her, which she dodged just in the nick of time. The armless creature lunged at Samus, stomping its feet just a few meters away from Samus. This move managed to knock Samus down.

"I don't know, Adam," Samus spoke. Adam could hear the doubt in her voice. "I think I'm going to lose this one."

"Don't say that, Samus," Adam asserted, almost in a harsh tone. "You are Samus Aran. You are the Hunter. You can defeat this monster as you can defeat anything else."

Though Samus heeded Adam's words, she could not help but notice a bit of angry assertion in his voice. He also could never be caught while calling Samus "The Hunter" before now. But these observations pointed out mostly harmless things, so Samus simply shrugged them off.

"I know, Adam," Samus said. "I'm told that all the time."

Immediately after, Samus, who was still sitting on the ground, was caught off guard as the enormous creature kicked her square in the torso. Given the immense girth of the beast, Samus expectedly flew in the direction she was hit from at a ridiculous velocity, ultimately hitting the stone wall that was originally yards behind her. As Samus's body hit the stone at full force, she heard and felt a spine-chilling _crack!_ Suddenly, her visor began to display a warning, stating that her suit and body have taken immense damage. Though dizzied, Samus watched as her visor began to blank out. Her suit had shut down. It was over.

Yet even still, a split second before her suit shut down, Samus heard one last word: "Go!"

As Samus's suit shut down, so did her body. She wasn't necessarily dead; she was merely in a deep coma, nearing her death as each second passed by. Only, to her, seconds felt like milliseconds. Almost immediately after she had blacked out, Samus felt herself wake up.

_I'm not in the same place,_ Samus observed. Indeed, she wasn't. She woke to a few Space Pirate doctors applying medicine to her wounds. Surrounding her was not a large arena with an open roof overhead; she was in a cave. Listening carefully, Samus could hear the pounding of gunfire in the distance: war has begun. Samus sat up.

"How long was I out?" Samus asked aloud.

"Approximately four hours," one of the doctors replied. "Between your blackout and now, Ridley has given the signal. We are waging war on the Krikens, and we're already winning the first marginal battle thereof."

"Where am I?" Samus wondered.

"I cannot provide a name for this location, as neither my colleagues nor I have any idea of such matters," the doctor responded. "But I can tell you that you're not too far from the arena which you were found in."

"I was… found?"

"Yes. You were very lucky. When Ridley gave the signal, the Space Pirates stormed the infrastructure, including the arena. A few of our more agile troops found and picked you up, before they were devoured by the Krikis themselves," the doctor clarified.

"And what of the Krikis? Has it been killed?" Samus queried. The doctor was hesitant to respond, but did so after about five seconds.

"Well… it pursued the agile troops that carried you to safety. It tore a hole through the arena's walls, and is currently reigning terror on both the Krikens as well as our army."

"And now the Kriken citizens are screaming in terror, claiming that the apocalypse has come," another doctor added, with a slightly happier tone than the other doctor's. "It's actually quite hilarious."

"I have to kill that thing… it has to be my top priority. The Krikis will destroy everything if nobody steps in to kill it," Samus claimed. She stood up, and left the cave.

As soon as she stepped out of the cave, a large explosion set off directly in front of Samus. It wasn't a large explosion, but if a fragile body was caught smack in the middle of it, said fragile body would explode as well. Samus pulled out her Scan Visor and examined the battlefield ahead of her. Then, it became clear: the battlefield was rigged with various Kriken mines. Samus heard the obnoxious screech of a single Kriken soldier get louder as the soldier grew closer, but Samus stabbed the soldier before it could do anything lethal.

Samus observed her surroundings to find the Krikis. It took about sixty seconds for her to realize its location: directly across from the battlefield. Before Samus took action in storming across the battlefield, she received a radio transmission.

"Samus! Where have you been?" the voice of Ridley yelled over the transmission. "We started the war four hours ago!"

"I was knocked out," Samus responded. "Ridley, you are familiar with the Kriken myths of the Krikis, correct?"

"Of course."

"Well, they're true. And the thing is right across the battlefield from me. Should I engage?" Samus requested.

"Of course… not. Samus, I don't care if some hulking behemoth kills an entire species off, especially when said species is the enemy," Ridley barked. "Focus all of your firepower on the Emperor. If the Emperor dies, we win this war. The Krikens cannot survive without a ruler, and they're far too stupid to set up a succession line for in case the Emperor is killed. We rid of him, and then the whole Kriken civilization descends into complete chaos. When that is achieved, the objective is complete."

"Why is our objective to destroy the order of a civilization?" Samus wondered.

"Let's just say that sacrifices have to be made to save an even larger civilization from such a fate," Ridley growled. "But now is most certainly _not_ the time to question my motives, Samus! I have offered you some freedom from the Pirates' creed, but as you are a Space Pirate, when I give you an order, you follow it!"

Ridley sounded enraged. It sounded as if things were not going as according to plan. But he was right; this was not a good time to question any ulterior motives. Without debriefing Samus any further, Ridley hacked into her helmet's map system to point to an objective.

"I can tell that you are uncomfortable with me doing that," Ridley spoke, a bit more calmly this time. "But I suggest you get used to it. All I am doing is pointing you to an objective. Now follow it!"

The transmission ended. "So much for the supposed 'generous hospitality' Ridley promised you, eh, Samus?" Adam said. Samus did not respond, but she knew very well that Ridley is known, and even notorious, for acting that way. Yet, despite her moderate loyalty to her former arch-nemesis in the past few days, Samus felt it difficult to take orders from Ridley right then. Perhaps it was because of his angry tone.

She took a minute to look at the map in her visor, and noted that the objective pointed directly to the Emperor's tower. For some reason, Samus felt a déjà vu moment; as though fighting the emperor would mirror a past event.

Samus mentally matched the location of the emperor's tower to the pointer on her map, relative to her own location. She then took off past the battlefield, dodging landmines when required, and arched her running path to head for the tower. As she ran, her Speed Booster kicked on.

Samus tore through several enemies, and since her Speed Booster kicked on, landmines lacked the ability to explode in time to hit Samus. She had little trouble getting to the tower. Once she got to the base of it, she shinesparked straight upward. The tower stood extremely tall, so the shinespark didn't cover the vertical distance of it entirely; instead, Samus hit somewhere in the middle of the tower. She grabbed onto a ledge, and entered the building.

Immediately upon entering the building, Samus was met with a Kriken guard patrol. It responded by shooting at Samus on sight, but Samus dodged and stabbed the guard with her Plasma Sword. She quickly ascended the nearby stairs, with her Speed Booster kicking on again. As she sped her way up the staircase, several guards attempted to snipe her or otherwise stop her—to no avail. Samus eventually hit a large door, which was sturdy enough to end her Speed Boost. Immediately behind Samus, she could hear several clicking footsteps. The guards were coming. Samus tried to open the door by cutting it apart using her Plasma Sword, but a split second after attempting, the door opened. Right behind it was the Galactic Federation patrol who sat with the emperor as Samus fought the Krikis earlier. The emperor was also present in the very large room, sitting on his throne.

"Samus Aran!" the commander of the troop yelled. "You are under federal arrest by the orders of Galactic Federation!"

Samus pointed her cannon at the commander. "I'm not going with you," she spoke calmly.

"Lower your weapons," a familiar voice demanded. The troops did so, and moved to the side as Admiral Dane walked up to Samus. "Samus," he started. "Why are you giving us such resistance? What more do you have to… well, live for?"

"The good of the galaxy," Samus kept her cannon pointed at Dane. "I know the truth now. The Galactic Federation is no 'good guy'."

"Really?" Dane sounded amused. "Well, if we aren't the good guys, then who are?"

Samus hesitated a bit, then eventually came out with her answer. "The Space Pirates."

Dane looked extremely surprised—he did not expect to hear this sort of answer from someone of Samus's stature.

"You're fighting for _him_ now?" Dane said, disgusted. "The man—the _thing_ that is responsible for so many innocent deaths, including your own parents?"

It was clear to Samus that Dane was trying to get her to give in by hitting a nerve. However, she did not listen.

"Over the last few years, and even the last few days, I have learned many dark secrets about the Federation. In many ways, they are not any better than the Space Pirates. The only differences between the Federation and the Pirates is that the Federation has political power, and is highly concerned with public image—largely the reason you all haven't 'intercepted' several galactic settlements."

"You're being ridiculous, Samus," Dane asserted.

"No, she's not," Emperor Gyrion spoke. He stood up, and walked over to Dane. "Everything she mentions is true, at least to some extent, no? Ever since we became your allies, I brushed up on Galactic Federation intelligence."

Dane looked surprised and annoyed simultaneously. "How the hell did you get your hands on such classified intel?"

Gyrion chuckled. "I have my sources."

"You committed a crime to our government by reading top secret information! Dane shouted at Gyrion. "Open fire!"

The troops began to shoot at Gyrion, but their bullets always bounced off a strange forcefield protecting him. Gyrion sent out a wave at the troopers, and they all fell off the tower (made possible by its overhead roof). Dane reacted to this by pulling out a shotgun and shooting Gyrion in the stomach, which seemed to damage Gyrion slightly, but not substantially.

"Since I have Samus here and ripe for killing, I don't need your assistance anymore," Gyrion spoke grimly. He pointed his arm at Dane's head and fired, with a red stream exiting the barrel. Dane fell over, lifeless. The red stream missed Samus's head. "Well, here we are, Samus. Just you and me… and a few guards I will prevent from intervening. I figure there is no better way to end the life of an enemy other than to kill her in a duel. What do you say?"

"Of course," Samus replied.

"Alright, then…" Gyrion paused. "I suppose I'll just move to the center of the room so that this duel can be done formally—"

He shot at Samus immediately at the response. Expecting this form of deception, Samus dodged the red stream. She immediately shot her Acid Beam at Gyrion. The acid pelted Gyrion's carapace and clothing, eating away at the many jewels and other fine metals that constituted his outfit.

"Damn!" Gyrion swore, observing his disintegrating jewelry. "I can't allow you to have an advantage!"

Gyrion enveloped himself in the forcefield that protected him from the Federation's shots. He then charged his Imperialist, and unleashed an enormous stream of red that nearly blew a hole into the wall. Samus was clipped by this attack, but did not sustain any major injuries.

"So Gyrion can charge the Imperialist," Adam noted. "I did not know that was possible. This may be obvious already, but I wouldn't let it hit you, Samus."

Samus dashed at Gyrion with her Ice Scythe out, but bounced off his forcefield. Gyrion laughed.

"An impressive arsenal you have," he admitted. "Too bad it will serve you no good against my forcefield."

Gyrion shot a charged Imperialist blast at a downed Samus, causing massive damage to her. Samus started to breathe heavily as her suit began to fade away—a sign that it was failing.

"The Hunter does not seem very powerful now, does she?"

Gyrion heard heavy stomping below, and laughed out loud. "I suppose you'll make a fine meal for the Krikis!"

The large Gyrion lifted the helpless Samus up, and began to walk slowly towards the edge of his throne room. He looked down, and sure enough, the Krikis was ravaging the base of the tower. A strangled Samus looked into Gyrion's eye, which was filled with a fiery image—perhaps a Kriken's method to indicate enjoyment in the face of vengeful closure.

"Any final words, Samus?" Gyrion asked, holding Samus over the edge. Suddenly, a scream sounded off, and Gyrion was pushed off the edge. Samus was subsequently caught in the claw of Ridley.

"I apologize for being late," Ridley told Samus. He and Samus looked down to see Gyrion falling, shouting curses along the way down. The Krikis held its mouth open, ready to devour Gyrion as its offering. Before Gyrion could be seen getting torn asunder by the large beast, Ridley went to the throne room.

"Why couldn't you do that before?" Samus asked Ridley.

"I was preoccupied with the battle," Ridley claimed. Samus saw Ridley punch a code into his arm, and the Space Pirate Mothership flew in and crashed into the tower. "…I was also busy extracting the mothership from the Krikens' possession."

The tower began to collapse due to the sheer force of the impact from the mothership. The tower fell forward (Ridley and Samus were safe, as they were in the air), and crushed the Krikis, which elicited a painful whimper in response.

"And now the Krikens are left without an ally and a leader," Ridley noted. "Mission complete."

Ridley flew Samus back to the mothership. She had a short conversation with him in the control room.

"Where to now?" Samus asked.

Ridley looked down, as if ashamed. "I've decided we should head directly for Daiban at this point," Ridley responded. "I understand that this decision makes what we have done over the past few days pointless, but it seems like the best option as of now."

"I suspect there will be a massive outcry across the planet," Samus pointed out. "Are you certain we have the firepower to handle an attack on Daiban?"

"Of course," Ridley asserted, but not in the most assuring tone. "We will be going all-out. I'll be there, you'll be there, a majority of my troops will be there, Kraid will assist as well as Draygon (the lattermost from a distance mind you)… if we split up forces, the Federation will have to divide their attention to handle all of us, so that they can protect as many civilian lives as possible. With them being largely distracted, you and I will have the chance to confront Vogl—and, more than likely… kill him."

Ridley hesitated on that last remark because he was afraid it may hit a nerve within Samus. It did not appear to; however Ridley could hear Adam sighing.

"Samus," Adam spoke. "I want you to take one last moment to think about this. Do you really want to put the galaxy in disarray? As bad as the Federation is, Samus, they are protecting the lives of civilians, and lives would be both lost and ruined as a long-term effect of the Federation's destruction."

"We will have to replace them immediately after destroying them. Innocent lives will be lost…" Ridley admitted. "But there are sacrifices we all have to make."

"I suppose Ridley is right," Adam said. Samus was now completely surprised; that was another thing Adam would never be caught saying, especially not in this context. "We all do have to make some terrible sacrifices… surely you understand. After all, you were there when I chose to sacrifice Ian as well as when I sacrificed my own life."

Adam's near-immediate justification to his agreement with Ridley did soften the blow of this oddity, but it did not assuage Samus from being concerned.

"Are you all right, Adam?" Samus asked. "You seem… different. You're starting to be less rash with Ridley and my affiliation with the Space Pirates."

"I am fine, Samus. Nothing is wrong with me. I simply agreed with Ridley this one time—I've learned that he is not an entirely unreasonable man," Adam responded. This, too, did not sound like something Adam would say.

"He is an AI that was once a sentient organism, correct?" Ridley added. "It isn't unusual for organisms to eventually adapt to their surroundings, including constant situations they find themselves in. Since an AI is meant to mimic this trait of life (and more specifically, sentience), it comes as little surprise to me that Adam here has gotten used to your new affiliations. I'm sure he is fine."

Samus decided to drop the subject. "So, my objective will be to go for Vogl?" she changed the subject. Ridley nodded.

"Correct," he accompanied the word with his nod. "But we won't be there at least for another thirty-six hours. I suggest you go get some rest—aside from your blackout, you haven't slept in days, am I correct?"

Samus nodded in agreement, and left for her quarters to sleep. She hoped all of this would begin to make sense soon enough—there was much behind Ridley's motivations that she did not completely understand.

**Author's Note**: I got really lazy with this chapter, and as a result, it's one of my least favorites. I sure hope I can recover from my hiatus completely soon enough, maybe by the next chapter.


End file.
